Goal Setting for Teens

For the majority of us, our New Year’s Resolution has now come and gone. Maybe our promises were too big for us, maybe they were not affordable, maybe we needed help from others and they just didn’t cooperate, whatever the reason, all hope is not lost.

Most of us talk to our children about their future. The majority of our conversations regarding their desired future require goal setting skills. How can our children set and achieve their goals when we aren’t setting the example? Instead of taking the risk that they will learn our bad habits, make a plan of action that involves practicing what we preach.

Pick a consistent day and time of the week for goal setting. For example, when the family is gathered together for dinner on Sunday, make a routine of discussing the goal for the next week. It can be as simple as scrubbing out the dog dishes, shaking and washing all of the rugs in the house, writing a distant relative a letter, etc. If the goal is complicated and lengthy, break the plan of action into smaller segments and discuss the accomplishments while planning the next stage.

Remember though, all goals do not need to be labor intensive. Some goals can be for pure pleasure. I remember when my children were very young; I wanted them to enjoy classic books. Several nights a week we put pillows on the floor, made popcorn and read together. These are valuable memories I still hold dear.

Whatever your goals are, short term, long term, work oriented, time sensitive or for enjoyment as a family, set the goal. Discuss the plan of action to accomplish the goal. The results will be more than worth the effort!

It’s another long day, but much is not happening. Your mind drifts and you think about sunny beaches, and the cool breeze. Though this feels great this idea unfortunately will very likely never happen.
Ask a lot of people what they want and you will often hear materialistic desires of ‘I want a yacht’, ‘I want my dream home’, etc. Though many people never get these things, why? All through life we often hear we have potential, but for many that potential is never seen.
Potential means exactly that, potential. Like there is some big power there, but it is in resting state. Kind of like a person sleeping or even a car just sitting there. The needed part is breaking out and utilizing that machinery. Whether a human or a vehicle, you must simply get up and go!
Goal setting comes to our attention, and for those that really don’t understand they would tend to think we are talking about New Year resolutions! No, not that time of year! Goal setting is about consciously deciding what you want. And daydreaming simply does not cut the mustard.
So, what is the difference between daydreaming and vision creating? And how does all of this mix in with goal setting, to the end of getting a result you want? These questions are important ones, and it is great to understand them. After all, clarity is power.
Setting goals is one of the first steps to goal achievement. Achieving a goal needs you to know what you want. One method of peering into that is via a vision. A vision can help focus your mind, and is very real.
There is a place, a space that when you create your vision, you are actually putting that vision to a place to be created. In essence, placing an order so to speak, to God, higher power, the ineffable. We have looked at a daydream. A daydream is simply escaping our conscious reality. Unfortunately day dreaming is not creating anything.
A vision is when you base your desire on reality, and design life as you want it to be. Daydreaming is not really conscious, you can’t really say daydream, and you start daydreaming! However, a vision can be made in such a way.
You can look at the things you want in life, and in your mind, create a vision, which is very real. A vision is an order to the universe. You then move forward with that vision, and soon find at some point, that you are living that vision.
Vision creation and goal setting can go hand in hand. Many people will overlook this important point. In fact many goal setting programs, books, etc, totally forget or don’t know about this important process.
Creating your vision can be much better than affirmations, and also can help you think about if you truly want that thing. Doing your vision creation often and taking action is the only way to materialize your desires.

What is being specific with goal setting and why is it important? Success is determined by doing things in the right way. When we do those things in the wrong way, we don’t achieve. Here is something for you to try out.
* I Want Lots Of Money!
Most people hold a goal to make lots of money. We see them play the lottery, enter competitions, pray, wish, and even try some new age methods! However, often people will hold to make lots of money.
Try this. Whole heartedly wish for lots of money. You likely have been in such a situation. As goal setters, often we will have a financial goal. It is one of the most popular goals that people set.
Now what tends to happen is that we want lots of money. A few days later or even that same day, you may have found some change on the floor, a coin, perhaps a dollar. Now, we feel that our prayers weren’t answered.
This may seem trivial; however, it is an important principle to realize. Half of the world population earns less than $2 per day! Hard to imagine, but true. One mans humble earnings is to another man riches.
We need to get specific. Goal setting is the same. Imagine going to a bank, and asking to clerk to give you lots of money! They will need specifics, and our minds work the same way.
You need to be specific. So, what is your goal? It may not be financial, it maybe something completely different, but what is it? Define it, and be specific. It is easier to speak about the money aspect, because if I say to you – $1,000,000, you know what I am talking about.
I would like to give you an extra piece to the puzzle, which many have failed with in the past, because they neglected it. And that is with focus. Your goal must always stay the same, and never jump around.
If you have been to several personal development seminars, then you likely have found that goal setting was part of the seminar. You set goals, and then went along lines that would enable you to create a vision or learn more about making it a reality.
Now, most people will have a new goal every time they go to a new seminar. And that is all good, if the goal has been achieved. For many people they have not achieved it before setting a new goal, and here is where the problem begins.
Having a system, where you write down your goals, and focus to completion, will bring much more success, over the long term. I guarantee it!

Vision is a topic which can often be overlooked, when setting goals. Creating a vision is one of the best steps any goal setter can take. As you read this article, you will discover more about the importance of having a vision, when setting a goal.
I think it was Solomon who said ‘where there is no vision, the people perish’. This quote is something interesting to look at, as it gives us the real process of setting goals.
You see, goal setting is great. You want a car; you set the goal, and get it. You want the house, you set the goal, and then you get it. This is all good; however, a piece of the puzzle is missing.
Getting the puzzle together is an easy process, when we add to the equation a vision. But, what is a vision? And how do you find your vision?
The only way to create a vision is to first know what you want. This is a great point, because any adult generally has tasted enough of life, to know the things you like. From here you can make that as a starting point.
Your vision doesn’t stop with the car, the house, the vacation, etc. It goes further and thinks about how your life will be. This makes your vision needing a kind of 360 degree view of what you want out of life.
From your lifestyle, to the things you own, right down to your relationships. This entire vision becomes the goal. And like a tree, which has small branches stemming from large branches, your vision will represent this tree.
Now, living that dream, we know stems from having a vision. It is the best anyone can ask for, because now, you have all your life planned out.
Now, you have direction, because you know exactly what you want. Each part has a purpose. If you have a lofty goal to own a jet, you know exactly the purpose of the jet, because it is part of your vision.
The abstract, becomes concrete details, as we can see a vision of life. Exactly how we want it to be. This can only happen with a vision, and the vision is what will drive your life and actions.
When you create such a vision, you automatically feel passionate about it. Over time, you will find that more and more parts become reality. Until one day, you find you are living that vision. And the only way to make that work is through visualization and then a system of goal setting to get your plan of action ready.

To be able to achieve a goal, you need to set it. But, there are many ways to go. The best way to go is with smart goal setting. After all, you want your goal to become reality. In this article, I will give you the A – B factor. A factor which is important for every goal setter.
What is the single biggest necessity of every goal setter?
The single biggest necessity for every goal setter is having the achievement of their goal, behind them. That being, that you have achieved the goal, and are now living life with that goals outcome, a part of your daily life.
Whether it is financial success, health success, relationship success or in any other area, you will want to understand a principle. A principle that where you are and where you want to get to are like a line.
And when you begin to set a goal, you have to realize that there is a possibility of achievement. The more you do, the more likely for achievement, and the less you do, less likely for achievement.
The best way to goal achievement is to do more! Take action, and succeed. And now we understand a formula. You are at A, and you want to get to B – which is your outcome.
When you understand that whenever you have a desire, and it is a strong desire, you will always have ways to turn that goal into reality. All it takes is to go through the steps.
Some goals maybe 10 steps away, while others may take longer. Some goals require a journey of a million miles, but always it begins with the first step.
As long as you continue taking steps, then you are going in the right direction. In life, we have many options and roads lead in many directions. When you have a goal in mind, you can achieve by taking the steps.
Sometimes people will get too involved with the time factor. We all have done this, and set a time limit for a goal. When the time arrives, sometimes it may not appear. Most will give up believing that it is over, but the truth alludes.
If we look at the success stories we realize that they took the steps. Even though time is a factor, focusing on taking the steps makes the most sense. You know roughly how many steps your journey will be.
Time is a factor, because we only have a finite period of time to achieve something, however, if the desire in you is strong for the attainment of a goal. Then realize that it is a simple process of taking the steps.

What is the essence of the American Dream? Is it still valid? And what has goal setting got to do with the American Dream? The American Dream stands for something, an important principle, and one which we will take a look at in this article.
The American Dream, personified by the statue of Liberty. But, what is that American Dream? It stands for freedom, but what kind of freedom, and how do we find it?
In today’s society, we find that freedom, and liberty can be words that seem foreign to us. We have relative freedom; we have a car, a home, etc. However, we can easily lose sight of just how much – even kings and queens would have valued some of what we have today.
So, is that American Dream dead? Not at all, because, even in today’s western society, we can find ourselves lacking a certain level of freedom. We have desires, and want things. We want to do, be, and have things. These in themselves are goals. And here is where goal setting and that big dream come to play.
America houses great opportunity and that opportunity has spread all around the world. Here the dream begins, because today, though the element of freedom is pretty much commonplace in the US and other countries, we still can find ourselves in a position where we are thirsty for more out of life.
Even though money is not everything, we can only do things in society with money, and possessions. To have a goal to get a good education, this goal alone is not possible without the adequate money.
Now, here is where things get interesting, because we can see that goal setting and that big American Dream go hand in hand. For hundreds of years, the US has been a place where people could go to, to find opportunity, seize them, and reach their goals.
Goal setting is an important principle, as it allows us to focus on what we want. We think about what we want, and go about achieving them. For example, the car would not be there, as it is today, if Henry Ford did not set goals, and go forward to there achievement. Likewise that education people seek, would not be possible, if the founders of that place of learning was not built.
Goals are what build societies, and as more people partake in them, we have richer societies. As people set goals, there is no need to be stuck in the dead end job, because people can go forward to reach there goals. And there is nothing like setting your own destination.

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?

Set your goals for a happy life and healthy computing from 2006 into the future!

Why do we need goals to achieve anything in our life? The answer is as simple as allowing our imagination to pave the way of our success. What do I mean by that? Simply put, our imagination needs to have an end result in order for us to be able to imagine ways to get to that result. Let’s do a simple exercise. In your mind try to trace the route of getting somewhere, but do not think of a specific destination. Imagine different streets you might take, or different roads. Having trouble? Your mind needs that destination if you are going to think of how to get there, doesn’t it? Otherwise there are simply too many options to choose from, your mind can’t sort through all of them, it needs to choose one. Goals work very similarly. In order for us to accomplish anything, first we need to envision what is it we want to accomplish, before we can commit to action.
So why is it that it is so hard for us to both set goals and stick to them until we accomplish them? A couple of the biggest reasons are the way we set goals and the way we think about them. This can fall into two categories: we might be setting goals that are unrealistic, or we start thinking of goals as set in stone. Either way, when we do not accomplish them right away we get disappointed and end up abandoning them all together.
To help us make goals that are both realistic and easy to achieve here are a few tips:
- We need to be specific about the goal that we are setting. So “I want to loose 30 pounds” is better then “I want to loose weight”.
- Second, we need to know the time frame of our goal. So if it is something like “I want to develop a successful consulting business”, and we know that this will not happen right away, we should put it in the long term goal category.
- If our goal is big like the developing a successful business example, we also need to break it down into smaller, shorter term goals that you will accomplish first before getting to the final destination. Like “I want to make a business plan for my new venture” or “I want to find partners that will help me accomplish what I set out to do”.
- We also need to know when we will achieve this goal. So if we look at the business example, it can be something like “I will have a successful business when I will be able to cover all my living expenses from the profits of the business, while working only 30 hours per week” It is something very precise that will signal to us that we have achieved a desired goal.
- Here are also other questions we should ask our selves when setting a goal. Is your goal achievable and realistic? Is the time frame for achieving your goal acceptable to you? Are the costs and consequences of achieving your goal acceptable? Do you have all the resources you need to achieve your goal and do you know where to get them if you do not?
Another very important point about goal setting is that goals are meant to be constantly adjusted! If you think of goals as a guideline that highly depends on the circumstances surrounding it, you are on the right track. Situations in our lives change all the time. This is the primary reason why we need to constantly adjust our goal to make them fit into the new situations life presents to us. All we really have to do is monitor how we are doing with our goals from time to time. Make sure that these goals still correspond to our desires, and if they no longer do, adjust them or set new ones.

We have heard so many times – it is important to set goals. Indeed we know, without goals, we are like a ship without a rudder. However, even with a rudder, you could find that life passes you by, while you are headed to this so important goal.
I guess this article is about balance. Balancing your life, because without positive balance in your life, even with the most noble of goals, you could find major detriment to other parts of your life. I am a goal orientated person, and I take action. I am one of these people, and if you heard yourself saying that, and why should you try to change the focus, then this may seem like a wrong direction.
How are you going to create a balanced life, while still having that major goal you want to achieve? There is one way, and it involves the first step, not the second step. That is vision. Creating a vision first, and then looking at goals from that vision.
For so long, so many people have stressed goal setting. In fact I was same. I would set goals, and put massive action to turn them into reality. For over a decade, I set goals, until I learned about vision. Goals are great, but guided missiles don’t have long life spans! We want a balanced life, while yet creating that forward flow that is so essential to rise above and out of mediocrity into the life of your dreams.
You may want to get rich, but what is the point of having all that money that you are envisioning? This is why setting goals in the right order is paramount. Ok, I set a goal for my life, and still have that goal today. But, soon as I realized the importance of creating a vision, I readjusted to focus on the vision, and not simply a goal.
So, how do you create a vision? Vision creation is similar to daydreaming, however totally different. While daydreaming is escaping reality, and looking to fantasy possibilities, i.e. those things which you never intend to live out, vision creation is creating possibilities you intend to attain in reality.
What kind of lifestyle do you want to live? Most people want more money, but I say why? Why do you want that money? Why do you want that success? Asking and finding out your why is crucial. It is fuel which helps you continue. While many people set new years resolutions, the why is not there, so in the New Year, the resolution is forgotten like the hangover!
Creating your millions is great, but what about relationships? You will want to share of your abundance, and you will also need to consider your legacy. Legacy is what you leave behind, not the money you make and eat today, but what you leave others.
Why have I focused primarily on money in this article? Simply due to so many people who come in contact of personal development, and goal setting all too often has financial as an important part. Yes, financial is crucial, but it needs to be put into perspective.
Certainly you would rather live the life of your dreams, your vision of bliss? The wealthy of the past would strive for the goal, and achieve, soon to find happiness is lost. The mediocre thought says money can’t buy you love, so it stops people from trying.
You and I can learn from all those years of effort by people to realize the pointlessness of this type of goal setting. Now you can make life work around your vision, and live your bliss little bit by little bit, more and more each day, till you find your vision has turned to reality.

It seems like every personal development coach has something to say about goal setting. It seems as though every seminar you attend, some goal setting seems to be sprinkled in to the day. So, why is goal setting so important, and why does it work?
We start life with high hopes. We all do. However, at the end, only a handful will look upon there lives with contentment. So few realize an amazing life, because of feelings of being limited. These feelings of being limited are a big concern.
If we look at life, we see that out of 100 people interviewed at a 25, all with high hopes, only 5 will be financially independent. And this does not just apply to money, as these 5 people generally live the life they want. So many don’t however.
There is another interesting correlation, and I think they are linked. Only 4-7 people out of 100 set goals. And it is amazing to see, because if you ask those 5 people in the 100, they do one thing in common and that is set goals.
If we consider that 7 people will set goals, and only 5 achieve then that says to us that the other 2 who failed, even though they set goals, is because of setting a goal they are not passionate about achieving. The truth is that goal setting does work, and has worked for all people since the beginning of time.
If you consider for a moment life as a goal setter, and life as a drifting purposeless endeavor, you can see that without a goal how will we get anywhere? Goal setting works because it causes us to focus on what we want. It is like watching television. While watching television, you can get so absorbed into the TV, that the actual TV set disappears!
That focus in our goals gives us a direction. It focuses our minds, and we can look at how we can make those goals reality. And this process can be simple, smart or full of so many components that it is hard to move forward.
By far the biggest achievers are goal setters. They think about what they want, and then move forward to make those goals reality. It is simplicity in itself, and here is how it works. We are goal orientated beings. We feel hungry, and we go and get food. We feel like going on vacation, and take steps to get there.
Goal setting can be viewed in such light, and can really transform your life. If you let it. So what is one goal that you really want to achieve? Go do it, and then tell me about it.