Goal Setting Kids

Adam Price asked:


Has it ever crossed your mind what personal development is exactly? How can it be defined & then implemented in your life? Personal development is basically the continual improvement of ones self over time, by reading, watching and doing certain actions that causes you to improve. Self-improvement books, seminars, tapes and videos are one of the quickest ways to move yourself up the ladder to personal development success. So what is personal development exactly?

Personal development can be difficult to explain if you do not acknowledge your uniqueness first. Believe it or not, you are different from any person who has ever lived, and from any person who is to come. Genetics will tell you that unless you are part of a set of identical siblings, your DNA is different from any DNA that has existed or will ever exist. This should be enough to tell you that you are special!

So, what makes you special? You have a combination of different factors that lend a definition to the real you: your personality is comprised of many past events and experiences both good and bad, the food you like to eat, your reasoning ability, languages you speak, your culture, likes, dislikes, dreams and ambitions all contribute to your overall personality and demeanour. What then, is personal development, and how does all this relate to personal development?

Personal development includes the improvement of your overall ability in everything you do, part of your improvement also means taking stock of your strengths and weaknesses and knowing yourself very well. First, you are a product of your upbringing. Depending on the external environment when you were in the womb, can make a very big impact on your life after you were born and it affects everything in your life. What is personal development? It is complete recognition of all these aspects of your childhood, and acceptance of the fact that such things cannot be changed. If you have learned to improve in the past from harsh teachings and methods, then it’s up to you to not dwell on the past, but rather work out intelligent ways to move on for the better.

What is personal development as it relates to your childhood? It means letting go of the past, because it cannot be changed; it also means anticipating the future, because you can make it better.

Personal development also has some very deep goal setting steps, and working out exactly what your purpose is and what drives you. What do you want to do in the next five years? What do you want to accomplish in the next ten years? What is personal development? It is identifying what you should prioritize in life, and what dreams you should run after. And what is personal development, further? It is the use of your strengths to meet your goals, and the improvement on your weaknesses so that you can be better as a person.

What exactly is personal development? You can answer this question through many methods. You can have a personal development plan, which you can make on your own, or which your psychiatrist or therapist can assist you with. You can also join personal growth and development classes, where you can know yourself better and find ways to improve your life and reach your goals.

What then, is personal development? Personal development is simply knowing yourself completely, from all your strengths and weaknesses, all your dreams and goals, and using all these to fuel your life and lead you to greater heights. With complete personal development, you can be sure of success not only in your career, but in many other important aspects of your life as well.



Domenic

Kim Olver asked:


I am sure that many of you are deep into the drama and excitement of the holiday season. There is so much to be done and so much to think about and consider that many can hardly think of anything else. However, when the excitement is over, our attention typically turns the closing of one year and the beginning of a new one.

This is a time typically reserved for reflection. We think back on the previous year, sometimes with a strong sense of accomplishment and sometimes with regrets for the things we didn’t do that we wanted to and the goals we set but didn’t accomplish. Sometimes we get so disgusted with ourselves for our lack of goal-directed behavior that we actually stop setting goals altogether.

Sometimes we are waiting for something to happen first. We wait to retire, for our children to leave home, or for there to be enough money in the savings account. While we are waiting, time is whizzing past us at an alarming rate. Before we know it, we end up at a place where we say, “Now I’m too old to do ________________ .” While we are waiting for certain life events to manifest, there are things we can still do to move ourselves forward toward our goals. Waiting is not the only option.

There are known techniques that will help you improve the odds of accomplishing your goals. What’s the difference between those who seem to breeze through their day accomplishing everything they set out to do and those who seem to wonder where the time went at the end of the day. We all have the same amount of time each day. What’s the secret?

First of all, you need to decide what it is you want to accomplish—the more specific you can be the better. We generally do not get too excited about the vague thought of losing weight but if we can say instead, I will lose 10 pounds by March 1, 2006 so I can fit back into a size 10 dress then there is more energy and impetus around that particular goal.

Next, you must decide, as Napoleon Hill says, “Do you have a burning desire to accomplish this goal?” Without truly possessing a burning desire, without passion to make it happen, we will often drift back into old behaviors that keep us plateaued at the same place we were the beginning of last year.

Once you’ve determined you have the burning desire, next you must ask if you have a good plan. Does your plan have a reasonable chance for success? Do you have deadlines for accomplishment? When you are trying to stop a certain behavior, do you spell out what you are going to do instead? Are the goals realistic? Are they measurable? Do you have the determination and unwavering resolve to follow through on your plan?

Sometimes there are things that sabotage our efforts. Typically, the things we do throughout our day are things that meet our needs. If we are trying to lose weight but continue to eat instead, we need to look at what benefits we gain from overeating. Often these are unconscious benefits that we really need to do some serious scrutiny to uncover. If the benefits we receive from our current behavior outweigh the benefits of making the change we desire, we will have a difficult time making the change without building in additional features to our plan that will make up for the benefits of the behavior we are giving up.

You need to develop systems to track and measure your progress. Many people require a visual representation of their progress to provide incentive to continue moving forward. You must develop a single-minded focus. You must avoid anything that threatens to pull you off your straight ahead direction toward your goals. You must prioritize and protect your time everyday.

The final thing that will be instrumental in achieving your goals in 2006 is to reprogram your nonconscious mind. There is a great deal of evidence that shows the neural programming of our nonconscious mind often gets in the way of us accomplishing our goals. These are the early messages that we picked up from those who were close to us when we were younger. We received messages that money was the root of all evil, that we didn’t deserve to be loved, that we were chubby and will stay that way, and that there is never enough time in a day. All those messages have formed neural pathways in our brain.

This means that when certain neurons fire, they trigger the firing of other neurons in the same pathway, which makes it extremely difficult to consciously change our behavior. The good news is that there is a way to reprogram the neural pathways so they will work for us instead of against us to accomplish our goals.

Through the processes of affirmations and visualization we have the ability to change this nonconscious programming. We must develop a mental movie of what life will look like once our goals are accomplished. Then, we must write out present tense affirmations of the belief systems we must have in place in order to accomplish our goals. If weight loss is your goal, for example, then your affirmations would sound like this: “I weigh 130 pounds and look and feel terrific. I eat only healthy food that nourishes my body. I enjoy exercising and the way my body feels while doing it and afterwards. I drink at least eight 8-oz. glasses of water each day.”

Reprogramming requires repetition of the affirmations and visualization daily and more often if you can make the time. With this added to all of the above goal setting steps, you will be well on your way to accomplishing your goals in 2006.



Tommy

Koz Huseyin asked:


When is the best time to start goal setting? Is it when we are young, in our 20’s, 30’s or even when we reach retirement? Should we start goal setting when getting a job or even in education? Or should we start when going on vacation or not at all. In this article, you will discover more about the best time to start setting goals.

* Why Is Goal Setting Important In The First Place?

The process of goal setting is designed to focus us in a direction of our choosing. It is a conscious decision that we embark on.

This answer alone can give us clues to the importance of goal setting. Think for a moment, if you did not have a goal in the morning to go to work, you would not be able to get anywhere!

But, this answer gives us a false description of goal setting. Because now, we can easily think that everyone sets goals, and now the article goes out the window! But, the truth is that there is a big difference to the goal setting that goal setters do, and those that everyone else does. It is called conscious goal setting.

* When Is The Best Time To Start Goal Setting?

So, when is the best time to actually start goal setting? The best time is soon as possible! Think for a moment, about all these people who have a hard time getting up on Monday mornings! We all have been through that. It usually means that we work, not for the pleasure of work, but for another reason, money, so it can fuel our lifestyle.

You see, goal setters don’t always live easily lives. Can’t paint a rosy picture like that; however, there is a vast difference. People, who goal set, are more likely to wake up on Monday morning enthusiastic about the day.

Quicker we can start to set goals, the quicker you can make your life go in a direction that you like. This is the world of conscious goal setting. Not, the New Year resolutions, but what you do all the time.

The best time to start goal setting then becomes, as young as possible. However, if you are reading this, you likely are a full grown adult. So, if you have not set goals before, it is important to start as soon as possible.

* Advice To Parents About Goal Setting

Goal setting is a fascinating topic. When we set goals, we automatically become successful people. When we set goals, we find that we can define success, and measure success. When we do this, we can build confidence, and live amazing lives.

When you take this goal setting, and hand it to your children, with encouragement. You will discover that your children achieve more. From the grades they get, to later life, goal setting creates positive, happy, and successful people. It is one great gift you can give your children.



Elaine

Suzie McDermott asked:


Goal setting for Children is never easy. How do we help our kids set appropriate goals? Motivate them to achieve these goals and act as their mentor to guide them when the going gets tough.

Following the four easy steps below will make goal setting for your children a whole lot easier

1)Define the goal. Without a clear vision of what it is that you want to achieve its easy and likely that you will get side tracked. Write down what it is that you want to achieve. If your kids are too small write it down for them, if they are bigger it’s a great practice to get into. Writing it down helps to clarify want it is you want to achieve and keeps you on track.

Having a written copy of our goals helps us to remain focused on the job. This is a skill that our children need to learn and master if they are to accomplish their goals. The clearer we are on our goals the easier they become to achieve. The clarity of our goals makes it easier to spot what we need to help us to achieve our goals. It also helps our children to filter out all the background noise that is constantly around us these days.

2)Know your Why behind the goal. Knowing why you want to achieve your goal is often overlooked in goat setting. Yet it is critical in stopping you and your kids from giving up. This is how you develop passion in your kids to achieve something.

It is also an important and very useful tool to refer back to when you need to motivate your children to overcome obstacles or when they lose interest to keep going and finish the project.

3)Be your kids mentor and not the doer of the goal. In others do not take over or do the task for your kids. It’s your job to guide your kids, motivate them and build up their confidence. It’s not your job to do it for your kids. This only deflates their confidence and motivation. Taking over, will also deny your kids of the satisfaction of achieving something that is important to them.

As a mentor we need to be able to help our children set realistic goals that they are capable of achieving, know what their limitations are and how to best help them achieve it.

4)Kids need realistic and positive feedback on their performance. We all need to know we have done a good job and our kids are no different. In fact our kids need to be continually reassured that they have done well. Descriptive yet positive feedback works best. Our kids need us to give them realistic feedback so they can learn to honestly assess their abilities. This in turn is a key step in helping them to develop into independent and confident adults.

5)Make it fun. I can’t stress this point enough. Our kids are easily bored and tune off if they find something boring. Let them learn from their mistakes without criticism and always focus on the positive. Remember the journey is just as important as the end result.



Zack

Vince Shorb asked:


Steps to creating powerful momentum for your family.

When the entire family is working toward one goal you will be pleasently suprised on how fast you will see results. What’s more, when the entire family unit is working toward financial goals it can be a bonding experience that everyone will appreciate.

Working toward family financial goals brings families closer together. You will find that your family will begin to operate as one unit in order to reach those financial goals. Many top business organizations, sports teams, charities and sororities share common financial goals that bring everyone involved closer together. It works for them so let the power of family financial goals work for you.

What family goals to set.

Family goals should be set for all areas of your life including: health, personal development, spiritual/ religious and life goals. This article will focus on family financial goals; however you can easily adopt the techniques to cover the remaining areas of your life. Once more, each individual person in the family should set their own personal goals and have full support from the family.

By setting family financial goals and working as a family to achieve financial freedom everyone involved gets a sense of purpose and something positive to work toward. Children, parents and other extended members of the family will all benefit from the support of working toward family goals.

How to set family financial goals.

Setting family financial goals begins with identifying objectives that your family wants to accomplish. Take some time to figure out what motivates everyone. Maybe one family member wants a vacation home at the beach, another person wants to retire next year and another member wants to have enough financial security to take a month off each year on family vacations. Find out what everyone dreams about because this will help you understand each others goals and you’ll become closer because of it.

Once you have an understanding of what each family member wants it time to align your goals. Maybe you want to learn more about making investments, want to increase your 401k savings, would like that new car, or just want to have more money for a rainy day. The bottom line is that everyone in the family has to do their part. When everyone works together with a common goal of achieving financial freedom then everyone’s life improves. The ability to set family financial goals and achieve family goals will improve every aspect of you personally and your family as a whole.

Family Financial Goals That Work.

There are effective goal setting techniques available that will allow your family to maximize the effectiveness of your financial goals. One helpful technique to aid in accomplishing your goals is to set them using the S.M.A.R.T method.

- S ‘ Significant & Specific. The more detailed you are able to make your family goals the closer you are to achieving them. This gives you a clear target to shoot for and when you see what you’re aiming at you have a much better chance at hitting the bull’s-eye.

Be sure to make your family financial goals significant. They must mean something to your family so that they are motivated to reach them. Setting a goal of saving for a gallon of gas probably won’t motivate people but if it was to save gas for a weekend trip now that’s another story. Remember kids, teens and young adults are motivated by lifestyle not money. So be sure to relate money to being able to afford the type of lifestyle your family wants to live.

- M - Motivational & Measurable. Family goals need to be measurable so you can celebrate together once you achieve them. This makes goal setting fun and a true bonding experience.

Family financial goals should also motivate each member to attain them. Design goals that motivate and encourage each family member to do their part.

- A - Attainable. Dream huge and be realistic. You can be anything you set out to be; however growing gills so you can swim underwter probably won’t happen.

- R - Results-oriented, Reasons & Related. One way to maximize the effectiveness of your family financial goals is to phrase your goals in the positive. Using results-oriented words like “I accomplished,” “I received,” or “I have”, will direct your mind to focus on the outcome. Focusing on the outcome is one of the key steps to becoming financially free.

Your family financial goals should include the reasons too ‘ would you like money for college, a nice vacation, etc. It’s the reasons behind the goals that make us want to accomplish them. Money doesn’t matter it’s what money brings us that matters.

Family financial goals must relate to each other so the family works as a single unit. Setting powerful family financial goals starts with making sure everyone’s goals are heading in the same direction and not contradicting each other. For instance, if one family member’s goal is taking a family trip to the beach next weekend and another goal is to work that weekend to save more money ‘ those contradict each other.

- T -Time. Its important that your goals have a set deadline in place. Decide on a specific time so you push each other to accomplish them by a certain date.

Take an evening and sit down together for dinner with no interruptions. Get everyone’s dreams, goals and aspirations out. Find a way to align your goals to create a dynamic family that accomplishes goals together. Every goal you set out and accomplish together will bring everyone closer.



Vivian

John Kenworthy asked:


(c) 2008 GainMore Advantage

In this article, we consider the goal-setting process and support for the concept of SMART goals.

Part 1 of this article considered the myth of the Yale study on goal setting and we discussed what a goal is and if it is necessary to have one.

Perhaps it’s not really about knowing your goal but about the goal-setting process. After all, few people who find themselves staring at a computer screen all day answering emails to earn a buck are likely to have decided this as their career goal.

What is goal setting? Inadvertently, or deliberately, people asking us when young “what do you want to be…” have set us on a process of goal-setting. They are asking us to peer in our mind’s eye into the distant future and describe our goal. With little worldly experience, we most likely think of people we admire that through their job demonstrate what is valuable to our young minds.

What would you like to achieve in X years that having achieved it will satisfy your personal values? Would you ask a ten year old that question? No? It’s unlikely that they would understand - but with the massive leaps in education and increasing pressure on children to know a whole lot more than the current generation of mature adults, they may well be asking you that question and be surprised if you can’t answer it. I digress, but we are effectively asking that when we say “what would you like to be…”

Goal-setting is a process by which we choose our intended result, decide what we want to achieve in the longer-term AND determine HOW we are going to attain the goal (i.e., the strategy). Therein lies the problem for many people in regard to goal-setting… the process necessarily includes the strategy to achieve the goal. When relatives with kind intentions ask “what do you want to be…” the strategy they advise to achieve whatever you said, invariably refers back to the need to study hard, be a good child, don’t answer back and above all… “eat your greens!” As you get older, the advice may become more specific and even, more useful. You begin to discover which areas of knowledge and skill you most enjoy and are better equipped to clarify your personal goal as you become increasingly aware of what is important to you. Goal-setting for your career, life and business is strongly advocated and endorsed in hundreds of books and papers and articles. Most emphasise the importance of writing your goals down as part of the goal-setting process.

Is goal-setting important?

Ask almost anyone about the importance of goal-setting and they will affirm that it is incredibly important. Here is a small selection of verbatim responses to the question “How important is goal-setting?” “The difference between successful people [and people struggling] is the setting of tangible and measurable goals.” “I believe goal setting does work and needs to be written down. ” “If there are no set goals, things either happen, or they don’t.” “With measurable goals you are in action to fulfill them” “… there’s no excuse for failing to progress if you don’t take ownership of your own goals” “Setting yourself some goals is always going to be effective” “I have been setting goals for myself for over 10 years. I believe that the goals enable me to achieve the things that I want” “People who are successful tend to be the same sort that write down goals” So there seems to be consensus that goal-setting is important, yet there is some evidence to support it, yet, as we shall see, from research undertaken for this study, having written the goal down is perhaps not the most important concern. What we will see is that the process of goal-setting is perhaps more important than the goal itself! There is some strong support for the concept of SMART goals. Goals that are Specific and Stretching, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time-bound. There’s a great deal of common sense reasoning that supports the idea of SMART goals - and there’s some excellent robust research.

Why set goals?

Edwin Lock and Gary Latham have undertaken a great deal of leading research about goals and goal-setting and neatly suggest that setting goals implies dissatisfaction with the current condition and a desire to attain an outcome Locke and Latham, 2006.

Why Specific and Stretching?

In Locke and Latham’s 2006 study and previous articles, there is an emphasis on the positive relationship between goal difficulty and performance. Locke and Latham, 1990; Locke and Latham, 2002. That is, the more difficult the goal is to achieve, the higher the level of performance is manifest - allbeit moderated by commitment to the goal. Earlier studies had already identified that specific and difficult goals led to greater performance than easy and/or vague goals Latham and Lee, 1986

Commitment to achieving a goal - Attainable and Realistic

Hollenbeck and Klein, 1987 suggest that an individual’s commitment to a goal (building on Locke’s research and many others) is dependent on a combination of the expectancy that the individual has of achieving success, and the difficulty of achieving the goal. In the commonly used nemonic, SMART goals, this is usually considered as the ‘AR’ of SMART - Attainable and Realistic. Though Hollenbeck and Klein help point out that when we set a goal, it may well seem that the goal is attainable - I can do everything that I need to do to achieve this and am prepared for the cost in time, effort, etc. - and it may well seem to be realistic - Given the resources that I have and the current environment, this goal can be practically achieved.

Measurable and Time-bound?

I don’t think it would be possible to undertake research on something that had no measure nor a time restriction - how would you know that you had achieved success if there was no measure, and if there is no time limit, when would you stop measuring or even not measuring. So these remain ‘common sense’ though a post-modernist might disagree.

So there is support for the concept of SMART goals - now why is it so important that we ‘write’ them down?

There are some who suggest that writing something down increases commitment to the goal but the evidence is anecdotal. For some individuals, the act of writing something down assists clarity through a conscious process because they consider something written to be a personal commitment. Does that mean it is true for everyone? To help answer this, we undertook primary research to mirror the mythical Yale Study. Through a simple questionnaire, respondents were asked if they had set goals for themself on leaving school, college or university, when this was and if they had written it down. They were then asked to estimate their total personal wealth now. The results are quite shocking.

More in Part 3



Sandra

Serendipity asked:


I tend to think the majority of the people in our society are so preoccupied with doing whatever it takes to keep their minds off of the real issues of the world and human race.Too busy eating, drinking & working themselves to death to conciously say, there are issues in this world that will affect my children, grandchildren and the future of the human race and earth we live on if I don’t wake up and choose to change the way I live. Maybe they think that they are too small or insignificant to make a difference. Maybe the thought doesn’t even cross their minds b/c they are too selfishly wrapped up into their own existence. Maybe they have never looked at it in a broad perspective, seeing the whole human race as a dormant being of the universe, non-productive and virtually non existent on the grand scheme of things due our destructive nature-we are destroying the planet we live on, killing each other, fighting over things that really don’t matter in the end with no large scale plan in sight that will save us when all of our resources on earth are used. Why can’t people put their brainpower together to be productive and work on advancing us forward technologically so we can be productive and start initiating serious plans of seeking other places to inhabit (and hopefully not destroy!) We need a goal as a human race to work toward that can provoke us to make that change to excite us and entice us to want to live better and create a better future for our offspring and the rest of the human race. Is it that we just don’t see a better future? Is it that we have been reaching for these ultimate world goals that have set us up for disaster and failure? We’ve been trying to attain world peace yet it’s unattainable unless another goal has been met first or another goal has been presented to inspire people to strive for world peace? What would the ultimate universal goal of humans be if we were able to obtain world peace? Maybe humans need a direction as a whole to move toward. What can we do with the universe that would inspire people to want to change?

Rebecca

crystal asked:


It seems every year i make the same one, since having my kids. Lose weight. I do lose some, but not enough. This year I am setting a goal size to be by the end of the year. Also to mend some friendships.
I am a size 16, do you think a 10/12 is a good goal? I have already went from 20 to16 this year. What is your resolution? I

Terry

gavin asked:


I live in a black community and all the kids ignore
the nice park set up for them…A base ball park a golf
area and tons of space…But they set up there BB goals
on the street and block traffic…WHY! Is it a black thing?
They block traffic and get pissed when you try to pass
them…

Talan

Kathy Gates asked:


In order to succeed with long term goal setting, then you need to be aware of the most common mistakes and pitfalls that can ruin your best-laid plans. Check your goals, and see where you may have hit a roadblock.

1 Sticky Goals: It’s easy to get plugged into a goal, and even though it’s not working, you hang on to it out of sheer habit or willfulness. That sets you up for procrastination and frustration. Rethink the goal by concentrating on the big picture - the direction you want your life to go - instead of the specific way to get there. Maybe the goal to own your own business is about wanting to spend more time with your kids, instead of more money. Maybe the goal to write a bestseller is really about wanting recognition for your talents, not fame. Focus on the feelings that you are after instead of the one-and-only way to get it.

2. Floating Goals: These goals are floating around in your head, usually masquerading as a wish list. Writing down goals (and strategies and actions) takes them out of the *wishing* category and gives them roots to grow. It’s no longer just a pipe dream in your head. Now you can simply filter all decisions (big and small) through your goals — does it contribute to my goal, or detract from it? Example: You have a goal to write a best selling romance novel, with a strategy of writing one chapter each week for 36 weeks, and your action is to spend 1 hour per day towards each chapter. If you don’t schedule - AND PROTECT - that 1 hour each day, it’s more than likely that you’ll get to the end of each week wondering why you didn’t get more done.

3. Contradictory Goals: This is a common mistake in goal setting–two or more goals with opposing results. Marriage counselors see it a lot in people who want the benefits of being married without giving up the single lifestyle. Or maybe you have a goal to spend more time with your family, but you have a job you want to do well at that requires a lot of face-time. Contradictory goals will frustrate you to no end, because you’ve given yourself an impossible task. Evaluate your goals in light of their relationship to each other.

4. False Goals: These are goals that involve chasing money, approval of others, etc. If you want to become a doctor just to win the approval of someone in your life, that’s a false goal. Or if you want to become a doctor just because of the money you’ll earn, that too is a False Goal. You’ll find yourself constantly looking for external motivation to keep you moving forward. Or you’ll find that no matter what you say your goal is, you just can’t move forward on it. It may be that it’s not an expression of the authentic you. Find the courage to tell the truth about what you really want in your life.

5. Blind Goals: No matter how nicely laid out the goals, strategies, and actions are, if you don’t SEE them and review them, and let them become part of who and what you are and do, on a daily basis, you’ll lose track of them. The job, the errands, the latest TV show, worrying about money, worrying about kids, worrying about the economy will all crowd out your time, thoughts, and energy. They may remain in the back of your mind, but you won’t gear your life towards them. Instead, write them out, blow them up to poster size, put a sticky on the ‘fridge, frame them for your office - anything, and anywhere that you’ll see them regularly.

Check your goals for these pitfalls, make a few adjustments, and you’ll be back on the success road sooner than you think.



Bill