Goal Setting for Teens

Traditional goal setting does not work as effectively as most ‘experts’ would have you believe.
This is because there is one factor, one key, a missing link, which, without it, you’d simply have no motivation to go about doing the things you are supposed to do to bring about the achievement of your goal.
And that is the big picture. What do I mean by the big picture?
The big picture is like a vision. It’s an obsession. A passion. A dream. A big, grand, bold dream that you have for your life.
In other words, it is a purpose. A life purpose.
I know these may all sound like big words to you, but the point here is for you to have an ultimate purpose for all your goals in life. What most people have are goals for material objects or for career advancements or monetary gains.
Most people, and I didn’t say all, merely stop at these ‘bite-sized pieces’, these small goals when it comes to goal setting. They don’t continue on to think about why they set these goals and for what even bigger purpose do they set these goals.
Ask yourselves – why do I want this new Mercedes? Why do I want this big mansion? Why do I want to earn an extra $100,000 a year? Why do I want to have so and so person as my spouse? Why?
Keep asking why. And again, most people would realise that it comes down to a feeling or sense of fulfilment, happiness, of being loved, of being secure and safe, or of being free. Some people would just say, “I just want these things”.
Well, all that may sound good and fine but do you truly think that once you get that Mercedes or that big mansion or the extra $100,000 a year or that person as your spouse, you’d be truly happy, fulfilled, free, secure and alive?
Try and look back at one past goal which you have achieved. Take a look at one milestone which you’ve already gone through. Do you find yourself something saying something like, “And now what”?
Most of us do. That’s because we don’t have that biggest, ultimate, most grand purpose for our lives. The reason why we are born. Some people call it destiny, or phrase it as “God’s place for you in the world”. Whatever it is, don’t think of it as something beyond your power.
This thing called purpose or the big picture is a thing that is both within your power to choose and also outside your power to choose. It is the sum total of all your life choices from the day you were born up to this very day.
The proof that it is within your power to choose is the fact that you’d been making all the choices and decisions in your life all this while, asking for this and that, regardless of whether or not you get what you asked for, to build up an image, a vision or The Big Picture of your life, which is your ultimate life purpose – that reason you were born and the thing that you must fulfill in your life before you die.
Whereas the proof that it is also beyond your power to choose is the fact that you already have made all those choices before in your past and there is little or nothing you can do to alter those choices you’ve made in the past. There are some decisions we made which we can undo, but not without a significant amount of trouble, and there are many decisions we simply cannot undo.
This is the irony of human life and why it is beautiful to be human.
But if you are sitting right there where you are, reading this post, you still have hope. You do still have a chance. Create for yourself a grand vision of your life – why you are here on this earth. Conceive big, bold dreams.
Imagine you are a historian or a scholar studying the history of your life. What would you like to be remembered for? What would you like to be famous for? What would you like to be associated with whenever your name is mentioned?
Write an essay about yourself, as if you were a historian in the future, looking back into your life. Include all the glorious things you have achieved, and even the flaws, the mistakes and huge failures you’ve made. But also include how you’ve transcended these flaws, mistakes and failures. Write about the difference you’ve made to the world, no matter how small (or big) it is.
Have you left behind a wonderful family? Have you left behind a legacy? Have you left behind a successful business? Or simply a happy memory in the mind of a person you’ve helped in a small or big way?
Now, after you’ve done this exercise, you may proceed with your traditional goal setting methods. Create sub-goals out of this big goal of your life. Create the secondary goals to this primary goal. Set the milestone goals that would define your ultimate life purpose.
What this does to you is create a certain insurance or feeling of security, because, although you may fail to achieve your small goals (no matter how bold they seem to be), you’re still on track because you have not lost sight of your ultimate life goal.

We’re all feeling pressured these days. We’re making do with less. We’re on call 24/7 Our email inboxes are overflowing
So – no surprise – we’re getting bombarded with guides to manage our time more efficiently. Visit any bookstore and you will find dozens (maybe hundreds) of titles with “time” in the title. Surf the Internet for “coach” and you’ll soon learn the truth: more people hire coaches for time management than for any other reason.
So why are so many of us still feeling frazzled and frustrated? Most time systems offer band-aid solutions to the life equivalent of a broken leg…or patching a flat tire with chewing gum. For real time management change, you have to dig deeper. Here are 10 reasons most time management systems fail — and what you can do instead.
(1)”One-size fits all” systems.
Your life is unique – so why should your time management system be like everybody else’s? For example, one “expert” advises all her clients to focus on marketing during the day. Gym and grocery-shopping should be reserved for evening, she says. But some people actually work better in short bursts of purposeful activity. They thrive on interruptions. Others need a solid block of time or they accomplish nothing. Which are you?
(2) Ignoring your motivation.
Does this scene sound familiar? You visit friends who have teenagers. After dinner the teens are supposed to take out the garbage. “We’re too tired,” they protest. “Can’t it wait till tomorrow?”
The parents almost give in…till the phone rings. After a brief conversation, the teens are headed out the door: “A party! Just a few blocks away – let’s run!”
We haven’t changed much, whether we’re 14 or 64. When we’re highly motivated, action seems effortless. Somehow we manage to get everything done.
(3) Waiting to reward yourself till you’ve “earned” it.
Experienced trainers and psychologists recognize that offering an unexpected treat can be a powerful motivator. Feeling deprived and resentful will be counter-productive. Often when you’ve been working hard to solve a knotty problem, the solution will come only when you allow yourself to take a break.
(4) Focusing on task instead of purpose.
Time management systems often focus on scheduling and organizing tasks into charts, folders and lists. But you take control over time when you ask, “Why is this item on my To Do List?” and, “Do I really need to do this?”
Over and over, I’ve heard people discover the big secret: Often when you ignore an incoming message or call, the problem resolves itself. And when you skip a meeting, the world doesn’t come to an end.
Of course, you have to be careful. You can’t ignore messages from clients (most of the time). If you work for a company, the decision to skip meetings can be hazardous to your career.
But I urge everyone to ask. “Pete” was supposed to send his department head a monthly report. He would need at least a day to compile the numbers. One day Pete forgot to send the report…until the middle of the next month. He realized he hadn’t gotten a follow-up warning or reminder. So next month, he deliberately ignored the report. Nobody noticed for the next year, and by then Pete had been promoted: he was known as a productive go-getter around the company.
(5) Listening to the critics.
“Connie” was feeling depressed: her boss had labeled her “disorganized.” True, her desk was cluttered and she sometimes came back late from lunch. But Connie ran a complex department and she rarely missed a deadline.
Connie’s challenge was to talk to herself encouragingly. She can’t give in to calling herself “lazy” and she can’t afford to accept the “disorganized” label.
To take charge of time, begin with the way you talk to yourself. Name-calling and insults won’t help. Feeling strong and powerful is the first step to solving your own unique time challenges.

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You and I know no one can be totally successful. But continual failure in personal goal planning on or off the PC, will inevitably make you more and more frustrated and disappointed.

Who needs that? When all you have to do is follow the 8 steps:

Step 1: The first important thing in goal setting is do something as opposed to nothing, and get started NOW. By placing time limits on your goals, you motivate yourself to get started and allowing yourself the best chance to succeed. Just remember that you can adjust your goal setting time frames whenever you see fit.

Step 2: Decide what your goals are in any situation, are they worthwhile, and if they are achievable. Don’t be afraid to dream a little, and rest assured the more practice at personal goal planning you get, the bigger the likelihood of you reaching all the goals you set. Then write down your short and long term goals, whether they are on or off the PC.

Step 3: Most of us fail to in setting and achieving goals because we think we ‘don’t have enough time’. So in the end, the major part of effective goal setting comes down to how effective your time management is. But ‘time management’ means actually we must be able to balance our time in the best way possible in order to achieve our goals. Check how time passes with reminders, audible and visible alarms and pop ups – anything to keep you productive and not just daydreaming.

Step 4: Break each goal down into several smaller goals which will make this process easier. In each step evaluated the obstacles that may stop you moving on and decide how they can be overcome or avoided.

Step 5: Take some time for quality research and education. Set performance goals and time limits here too! Surf, read, chat – but keep your enquiries to the point. Keep understandable notes throughout, including links and your own revevant thoughts as they come.

Step 6: No matter what you do, dont expect to eliminate every trace of uncertainty from goal setting activity. It isn’t cast in stone.. A little stress should fire up your determination and flexibility, which you need particuliarly in the ever changing Internet universe! Keep moving!

Step 7: Evaluate your progress as often as needed. If this is a big goal it may take years, but stay motivated! Review your progress daily, weekly, or at any other interval you feel comfortable with, but as often as you need to determine if your program is working and moving forward. If you’re not not progressing on a particular goal, you may have to re-evaluate your approach and make changes as necessary

Step 8: Another personal goal plan has succeeded! On to the next one…

OK, you may struggle a little at first. Maybe once or twice, fall back into your old sloppy ways. But remember…people who are able to use goal setting effectively concentrate and focus better. They show more self-confidence, suffer less from stress and anxiety, perform better at whatever they attempt, and are happier and more satisfied with life. Now isn’t that worth a little investment in effort?

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Are you ready to live a highly successful life, achieve all of your goals, and enjoy the success you know deep down that you really deserve? If your answer is yes then before you go any further you must answer the following searching question.
Just what is your purpose in life? If you dont have a ready answer, dont be too surprised. Even the greatest of the philosophers who have ever lived succeeded only in making this question more profound. Why? Because the answer lies not in simply knowing what is your purpose in life but lies in discovering what is your goal in life. The last one is only possible if you have already gone through the process of goal setting.
Soul searching is actually personal goal setting in its infancy. The only problem is that for many people that infant never grows up into maturity. The person involved in soul searching might dismiss this process as nothing but being sentimental. Without realizing it, the person has just killed the infant, or his chance to flesh out the course of his purpose driven life.
But luckily, soul searching is a recurring process. So the next time you have been given the honor of another visit, be mindful.
Personal goal setting is a powerful tool for setting a course for a meaningful and fulfilling life. The process of personal goal setting in itself is powerful enough so that if you are going through with the process you might think that your lifes meaning or purpose had been found. But it is not. The euphoria is only a result of your self finally realizing that you are on the right track.
For some, the process itself is motivating. Once you have found a way of making this a habit, you will soon realize that achieving your goals that look like impenetrable walls in the past is nothing but a purpose that needs a set of personal goals as the key.
Personal goal setting: what should be set?
Since there is more to life than the four letters that it represents, personal goal setting involves a review of all the aspects of your life, and all of these should have a corresponding goal. But before going to the process of setting up goals, you must have one general goal that encompasses all the other goals. In fact the other and smaller goals should work in the service of this large goal of yours.
1 Career. What aspect of your career do you think needs an improvement? Or perhaps, ask yourself, is it time for a new career?
2 Outlook or attitude. Is there a part of you, particularly on how you perceive things, that needs to be changed?
3 Financial. Do you have a clear projection as to how much you should be earning in a particular moment in your life? This aspect is closely related with career, so better review and come out with a goal with these two side by side.
4 Potential development. Perhaps some of your talents and skills need an improvement, or are maybe already clamoring for an improvement. Life, after all, is discovering your potential and developing it in the process.
5 Academic. Perhaps you are no longer getting any mental stimulation lately. Maybe your education related goals have expired many years ago. Perhaps it is time to go back to school for another degree, or engage in some thought provoking activities.
6 Family. What is your idea of a family? Getting married, having and raising kids? When? How?
7 Social involvement. Perhaps you want to help achieve something that would make the world a better place? Perhaps you are into animal protection, environmental concerns, and human rights issues?
These are just some aspects that generally come to mind when it comes to personal matters. If you feel or think that this list is not enough, or does not fit well with you, you may add or change it. Remember, personal goal setting is what its name is, a personal task. It is all up to you to device it and make it happen.
This article has just scratched the surface as far as goal setting is concerned. There is a lot more information out there in such places as the local library, the local bookstore, and also there are a number of very helpful Blogs on this subject.

Review “The slim but power-packed book teaches the reader how to better manage time in a fast paced, get-it-done now world.” Houston Business Journal “Goal Setting promises to help us get off our duffs by showing us how to understand our goals… and should help us achieve our dreams…” Accounting Today “…very well written and is applicable to anyone at any time in his or her life…and gets you to think for yourself. I highly recommend it.” — AORN magazine

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What are your goals? Do you want to quit smoking, lose weight, run a marathon, or raise money for a local charity? Whatever your goals may be, you need to ask yourself, how am I going to achieve them? Many of us say, some day I want to go to Hawaii or Monday I will start eating better; but we rarely start working towards the thing we want in our lives. Maybe it is because we don’t know where to start or do not have the support to push us forward.

Whether you have goals stuck in your mind or have taken the time to write them down, start today and work towards achieving it. What steps do you need to take to accomplish your goal? When do you want to have it completed by? Who are you going to tell so they hold you accountable? Successful people set goals, hence the reason for their success.Whatever your goals are in life, they can be realized through the process of goal setting and starting is as simple as identifying the goal and making the time to work on it.

Things to think about when setting your goals:

Document each of your goals, look at them every day and work towards achieving success.

Make your goals detailed. How, when, why are you going accomplish your goals?

Are your goals manageable? Have you set aside the time to work on your goals? Do you believe your goals are within your reach?

Document the obstacles and the solutions to achieving your goals.

Break down your goal into action items. What steps do you need to do to complete your goal?

Keep a journal of your progress.

Reach out to your friends and family for support and accountability to keep you on track.

Believe you can accomplish your goals. It is so important to trust in yourself and have a positive attitude when working on your goals.

Visualize all the things you want in life, make a dream board.

Stay motivated, have confidence, and envision yourself already completing your goals.

 Have you created a dream board?

A dream board is a visual reminder of your goals and dreams. The pictures and phrases represent those things you want in life and help you stay focused on the “big picture”. What we focus on is what we create. Look at your dream board as often as you can so you keep a fresh visualization of your hope, dreams and desires.Many people have created their dream board on poster or cork boards using newspaper and magazine clippings. Once you have created your dream board, hang it where you will see it the most. It is a constant reminder of everything you want in your life 

Life passes us by so quickly. Days turn into weeks and weeks into years. There are so many possibilities, dreams and opportunities right in front of us. How are you going to turn your desires into reality, get inspired and start on your own goal setting journey?

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Let me begin by asking you a few questions:

Do you know how to boil an egg?

Can you change a flat tire on your car?

Do you know how to wire an electric plug?

Would you be able to clear a blocked drain?

You may well be wondering why I’m asking you these things, but just bear with me. You see well into my late teens I was unable to answer “Yes” to any of those questions. I had great parents and they did just about everything for me. In fact they still would now if I let them! And I was certainly grateful!

But it had it’s downside as I’ll explain.

I still lived with my parents when I first learned to drive and bought my first car. But having a car means you’ve got to look after it. The trouble was, because I had so many things done for me, and also when I was at school I had never had much interest in the practical subjects where you got your hands dirty, I really hadn’t got a clue about auto maintenance. But not to worry, Dad was always ready and willing to help.

Until, that is, I got a puncture when I was on a remote road far from home. There were no mobile phones in those days so I couldn’t call anyone. So it was simple; I could sit and wait for someone to come along and ask for help, or I could set about changing the wheel myself. No choice really, so I took a look at the owner’s manual to see what I had to do and I did it.

And guess what? There really wasn’t a problem and in a few short minutes I changed the wheel and was on my way. And I’ve done the same thing a number of times since. I also know how to boil an egg, wire an electric plug, and even unblock the drain. And lots more besides.

So what’s that got to do with trust?

Well simply I learned to trust myself to do those things. You see because I had always had things done for me and, when I watched others doing them, convinced myself that I wouldn’t be able to do them, my subconscious mind believed me. When I struggled with the practical things at school it simply reinforced it. My mind became conditioned to believe that I was not going to be able to do those tasks.

But when it came to dealing with that puncture I had no choice. There were step by step instructions on what to do and I just had to get on with it. I had to override what my subconscious tried to tell me and trust myself to do it. Can you imagine how great I felt when I had completed the task successfully? And throughout my life I have learned to trust myself to do new things and take on challenges. I trusted myself to become a successful presenter and public speaker, I trusted myself to go out and learn to sell to people at all levels, and I trusted myself to give up a well-paid job and start my own business. Just like the owner’s manual told me how to change a wheel, I found out how to do the other things I’ve accomplished. The help, advice and instructions were always there.

And the same is true for you! Don’t be stopped from doing what you desire by your subconscious mind. You may well have become conditioned to believe that you cannot do things. You’ve probably come to believe you have your position in life and that wealth, happiness, financial freedom or maybe just a job you enjoy are beyond you. But don’t accept it. The opportunities are out there you just have to seek them out.

But how do you take that first step? Simple, you must simply trust yourself!