90 Unit 2 Setting and Reaching Life Goals
support you as you work toward some goals. For
instance, suppose you need help to complete your
homework. Would you contact a teacher? Would
you ask a classmate to help you? The exact kind
of support others can provide depends on the
resources they have. They may offer support by
helping you, encouraging you, or giving you other
resources. They can combine their resources with
yours to help you carry out your goals (Figure 4.7).
Nonhuman Resources
Money, possessions, the community, and infor-
mation are examples of nonhuman resources. Every
person has these resources in different amounts.
The one exception is time, the nonhuman
resource everyone has on an equal basis—24 hours
per day. How do you use your time? Do you use
it to accomplish your goals or do you waste it? Do
What human resources could help a person
reach a goal of physical fitness? of having good
friendships? of personal maturity?
Your Resources
A resource is anything available to help you
carry out your decisions. When people are aware
of all their resources, they are better able to make
good decisions and reach their goals.
What do you have available to help you
carry out your decisions? time? energy? money?
a can-do attitude? special skills? There are two
kinds of resources: human and nonhuman. A
human resource comes from within a person. This
includes your personal qualities and characteristics
as well as the support you receive from others. A
nonhuman resource is any item you have available
to help you, such as money, a car, tools, time, and
information. Some decisions may require several
resources.
Human Resources
What personal qualities and characteristics
help you carry out your decisions? You may have
certain physical resources, such as good health,
strength, and energy. Knowledge, talents, and
skills are also human resources (Figure 4.6). Your
personality and character traits are other exam-
ples. These personal traits become resources for
making decisions and carrying out a task.
Your character qualities can also be consid-
ered resources. Strength in character means that
you have personal qualities that will help you
carry out your decisions. For instance, if you are
disciplined, you will be more likely to carry out
your decisions.
What skills have you developed? Skills for
reading, writing, and math are resources you can
acquire in school. You can also develop skills for
communicating with others, solving problems,
and making decisions. In addition, you probably
have developed other special skills, such as pre-
paring food or caring for children. Knowing how
to maintain your car, program a computer, or play
an instrument are other examples. Each personal
skill can be a resource for you in some situation.
Besides your skills and abilities, you may need
to use the second category of human resources—
other people in your life. Family members or
a friend, teacher, or religious leader can help or
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Figure 4.6 The knowledge gained through education
is a human resource. What knowledge have you gained
recently that could help you make a decision?
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