Making a Plan for Change
71SETTING GOALS FOR CHANGE
Without setting speciﬁc goals or objectives, it will be impossible for you to evaluate 
whether you’re making the changes that you hope to make. Goals can be described in a 
number of different ways. First, goals can reﬂect either short-term  or long-term  changes that 
you would like to accomplish. For example, if you have a fear of public speaking, a rea -
sonable one-week goal might be to ask a single question at a meeting at work, regardless 
of how anxious you feel. A six-month goal might be to give a thirty-minute presentation 
without feeling signiﬁcant anxiety. As you go through the process of overcoming your 
social anxiety, it is important to identify short-term goals (for example, what you want to 
accomplish this week), medium-range goals (such as what you want to accomplish over 
the next few months), and long-range goals (for instance, what you want to accomplish 
over the next year or two).
Goals also can be described either as speciﬁc  or general . A speciﬁc goal is more detailed 
than a general one. Therefore, speciﬁc goals are often better suited for guiding you in 
selecting appropriate treatment strategies, compared with general goals. Also, with spe -
ciﬁc goals, it is easier to measure whether your objectives are being met. Although it is 
okay to have a few general goals, you also should try to generate as many speciﬁc goals 
as possible. Examples of general and speciﬁc goals are listed below.
General Goal Speciﬁc Goal
To be more comfortable during 
presentationsTo have my fear level during presentations at my