Printable: Goal Setting from Believing to Achieving!

Setting goals are ways to achieve the things that you want in life. Goals help us to strive for more and promote personal growth. Goal setting allows us to take into consideration what our strengths and weaknesses are and how we can maintain and use our strengths while improving upon our weaknesses. The act of achieving a goal helps with building up our self-confidence and self-mastery skills. 

What is Goal Setting?

Goal setting is exactly what it sounds like! It is setting goals and staying accountable on your journey to complete them. Some goals might include getting better grades, cleaning out your closet, landing that interview, and more! A goal can be as big or as small as you want it to be. Goal setting is discussed in our Emozi® grade 8 lessons as well.

Why is it Important to Set Goals?

Goals help us to become our best selves. Goals also help guide us and give us direction in life towards the things that we want to achieve. Goal setting strengthens our organizational and decisiveness skills as well. Achieving and failing goals also help us to realize our dreams and help to steer us to the best possible way to get there that is realistic.

It is important to teach children goal-setting skills so that they know what it feels like to persevere. Knowing one’s strengths and capabilities is crucial to self-growth and improvement. Self-confidence can also build when one achieves their goals because they realize that all they needed to succeed was themselves and their determination! 

Setting Attainable Goals

Setting realistic goals is important because they keep us motivated to accomplish them! When we can start to see the light at the end of the tunnel we keep hope and carry on. When unattainable goals are made, we often become discouraged and give up, resulting in going back to unhealthy behaviors that keep us from our goals. 

4 Ways to know if your goal is attainable 

1. An attainable goal’s progress can be tracked
• How long will it take you to reach this goal? What is a realistic time period, a week? A month? Half a year? Set a time period and track your progress.
2. Your goal is realistic. 
• While we all may want to lose those extra 5 pounds, giving oneself 3 days to do it is unrealistic. As is cleaning out your classroom at the end of the year in 3 hours. Be sure that your goal is realistic and can be done in a set amount of time. 
3. Your goal is challenging but not impossible.
• Goals are meant to push us, but not at the cost of our health, social lives, or wallets. If your goal is to have the BEST classroom ever and all you have is a room full of target bags with long receipts, odds are you won’t achieve your goal.
4. Have a clear vision
• What will your goal look like once it is achieved? How will you feel? Visualize what your life will look like after you reach your goal, the more accurate the better.

How to Model Goal Setting 

We see this practice all the time when teaching our young ones: see one, do one, teach one. 

See one:

Tell your child you have a goal that you would like to complete: for example, cleaning out the garage by the end of the summer. Outline your goal to them, how long will it take? How many steps will it take to complete? How will you know when you have reached your goal? 

Do one: 

Follow the steps you have outlined to accomplish your goal. Guide your child through each step and take them along for the whole process. 

Teach one: 

Now it's time for your child to set their own goals! We have included a goal-setting worksheet and progress tracker to help with this. 

Guidance for Goal-Setting Worksheet: 

1. Click the image to download the Setting Goals Worksheet and Setting Goals Tracker. 
2. Complete the self-evaluation on the Setting Goals sheet, make a list of your strengths (ex. determined, good listener, organized, etc.). Next, think about how your strengths can help you reach your goal.
3. Make 1 big goal and write it in the #1 slot, if you have any other smaller goals they can go in the spots provided. Remember it is much easier to start with one big goal and a smaller one than three large goals.
4. Next, move to the goal planning rectangle on the sheet and plan out the steps of how you will achieve your goal. Fill out each step in the sections labeled 1-5.
5. Then, write in the timer section how long you think it will take you to achieve your goal. Remember to set a realistic amount of time.
6. Finally, when striving for our goals we must also have a backup plan in case things start to fail. Think of alternative ways to achieve your goal if you feel you are not reaching it.
7. Use the Setting Goals Tracker to help you track your progress! Each numbered step in your goal planning from the setting goals worksheet corresponds to a ☆ (star) on the goals tracker so you can see how far you have come!
8. Help your child fill out the worksheet and happy goal setting! ☆ 

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