Discover how students can make and achieve realistic goals like studying at Premier Institutions and not be a victim to the bias of their social cognition, something that fortunately Shah Rukh Khan could escape.
He wanted to make it to Bollywood and as a student I desired to get into the top college of Delhi; here we were two people trying to chase impossible dreams. SRK went ahead to become the generation’s superstar and technically I did get into that college, but only in my mind. But I bet you did too, into the top schools of your choice, promising yourself to never settle down.
In the beginning of our 12th grade, riding high on unrealistic motivation we prepare the perfect schedule equipped with strategies (pomodoros; 2 months revision, last 10 years papers), we commence our journey. Many might remember their walls reading - “x hours a day, wake up at 4 am, no social media and 100/100”.
But the reality is most of us fail miserably in following our mapped out schedule and meeting our set goals. We have fallen into the trap of aiming too high, being overly optimistic in our abilities. Envisioning their future through ‘rose colored glasses’ many make irrational judgments about their future.
In Social Psychology, such irrational thoughts are considered to be sourced by some error in our judgment. They are fueled by a powerful concoction of Optimism Bias: “Predisposition to overlook risks & expect things to turn out well” & ‘Overconfidence Bias’: “A greater confidence in our beliefs and judgments than justified”.
Here are some ways we can plan realistic goals and be rationally optimistic:
Feedback
We lack relevant feedback that would help moderate our confidence, feedback on our learning styles, our areas of strengths and weakness (Branscombe & Barron, 2017).
Constructive criticism from people you trust, on your schedule, test performances and working on them can be beneficial.
Introspect your motivation
We want to excel badly, so we predict that we will.
Tweak your motivation and get to the root of why you want to excel.
Remember, internal motivators over external ones are key.
Focus on the ‘how’, not ‘when’
Focus on how to get the goal for the day done and not when it will be done.
An experiment by Wieck & Guinote (2010), showed that people who simply focused on getting a task done, over how it could be done, showed a much greater ‘planning fallacy’.
You can use SMART goals as a way to break down your dreams into achievable tasks.
Here’s a link to get you started : SMART Goals Guide.
It’s okay to aim high, in fact it’s encouraged. But be realistic in your approach and make rational optimism your bae :).
Walt Disney has rightly said, , “ I always like to look on the optimistic side of life, but I am realistic enough to know that life is a complex matter.”
References :
Baron, R. A., & Branscombe, N. R. (2017).
Social Cognition, In Kapur, P (Eds.), Social Psychology. (14th ed., pp.42-79). Pearson.
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