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Funny Montana Observations

  About Goal Setting . . .

Have you ever had dreams about what you would like to be when you grow up, how you will play in your next game, how you will do on your test, or how you could learn to play an instrument? You may not have those particular dreams, but you likely dream about something in your life. Well, just dreaming about it won't make it happen. What you can do is set some goals, and work out how you're going to make it happen.

Goal setting is essential for building a successful life and it is a life-long skill. It helps you to focus your unique gifts and talents, and it helps to build and strengthen your self-worth. Goal setting equips you to lead a life full of meaning, purpose and direction - regardless of the personal or professional paths you choose. You're never too young to start setting goals for yourself!

In order for something to be a goal:

It has to be important to you, personally.
It has to be within your means and abilities.
It has to be something you have a reasonable chance of achieving.
It must be clearly defined and have a specific plan of action.

There are many areas to consider when setting goals, such as:

Career - school grades; skill development; future plan (ambition).

Personal - character development; personal growth (self-image,
   sense of responsibility, ability, self-esteem); appearance.

Health - exercise; diet; over-all well-being; balance.

Community - commitment to serving others (volunteer work).

Financial - understanding the value of money; earning; saving.

Friends - expanding your circle of friends; choosing friends wisely.

Household - chores; contribution to building home life.

Recreation - hobbies; relaxation; fun (movies, parties, etc.)

When aiming for a goal it's important to focus on performance, not perfection! It's when you're reaching for goals that you begin to see the possibilities that exist for your life. You learn about your strengths and non-strengths, and about what you can accomplish in life.

Here are some things to consider before you start setting goals...

Think about yourself:

What sort of person are you?
What do you look like?
What impression do you give others?
How do you feel about yourself?

Make a list of all the positive things you can think of, such as:

I'm a neat writer
I'm a happy person
I'm kind to others
I care about animals

Now think about the things you can do, such as:

I can run well
I can cook
I can sew or knit
I can sing or play an instrument

Finally, think about your appearance.

I'm in good shape
I eat healthy
I take care of my teeth, hair, nails, etc.
I dress neat and appropriate

So, now you have a list of all the personal "assets" (or positive stuff) that make up your wonderful, unique self. Think about what you can do with those assets, and sort through your dreams to see which could come true one day if you work towards them. Be realistic. If you cannot sing a note, it is unlikely that you would become a popular singer!

Now it's time to set some goals to help you get to your dreams. You need to write some goals down, sort out which are the most important goals, and then decide what are the steps to take to help you get there. These "steps" should be little steps, not gigantic leaps! If you were to have a goal of running across the United States, you wouldn't begin the steps by writing, "Tomorrow I will run across my home state". That would be too big of a step! You would want to begin by doing some easy jogging... working up to some local fun runs... and slowly developing your running abilities over many months and years. Then, after many years of building your endurance abilities consistently and acquiring experience in health and fitness, you would set up a training schedule to specifically prepare for a run across the United States.

You're going to want to decide what is your most important goal. Then, write down all of the good things about reaching that goal. If you run into a problem, sit down and think about how you're going to work around it, or over it or through it. Don't give up. Keep trying! Also, it's always smart to tell friends, family members or teachers about your goals. They'll likely encourage you!

If you meet a problem on the way to your goal, look back at your steps and add in as many steps as needed to keep you going. It doesn't matter if they're small steps. Remember, it's wise to share your goals with others, such as your parents. Many times when a person has success in reaching a goal it's due to the help of others.

Important things to remember as you work toward your goal:

Be realistic. Set small goals to start with. You can move to the
   bigger stuff when you get better at setting and reaching goals.

Keep feeling positive. Don't let other people bring you down.

Check your steps every day and read through your goal again.

Believe you can do it. Doubt will keep your goal out of reach!

Keep adding more small steps if it doesn't look like you're
   making much progress.

Tell someone you trust about what you're doing. Talking about it
   will: (1) keep you feeling good; (2) help you work out your steps;
   (3) help you learn how to reach your goal; and, (4) encourage you.

Don't stress. Learn to relax so that you have the energy to work
   through the steps.

Have fun and enjoy the adventure toward your goal!

Never forget that the ultimate goal is doing your very best.

Take time to think about it...

Use the following questions below to think more about goals and what you might want to aim for. You should write your answers down so that you can keep your words to look back on later.

If you could become anything you wanted, or accomplish anything you wanted in life, what would it be? What can you do to make that happen? Are you doing it? (If not, why not?)

Think of three things you'd like to accomplish in the next several months. These must be things that are truly important to you and within your ability to accomplish. For each one, describe in detail what you will need to do in order to succeed and lay out a plan for doing it (including deadlines). Now that you have set three goals, try carrying out your plans.

Write about a time when you succeeded at something because you made it a goal and were committed to it.

          ─ Describe what happened.
          ─ How did that make you feel?
          ─ What did you learn from that experience?

Sometimes, despite our best plans and efforts, we fail anyway. Write about a time when you tried to accomplish something but came up short.

          ─ Describe what happened.
          ─ How did you deal with it?
          ─ What did you learn from it?
          ─ Did anything positive come out of it?

Try Something Really Cool!

Click on the planner cover below to open a new browser window which will allow you to create your own plan for going after your goals. It helps make goals easier to reach by breaking them down into manageable steps. This is an awesome tool created by the Nemours Foundation. After using this tool to develop and plan a goal, you can print out your own goal sheet to guide and inspire you. The planner also provides examples of how other people reached their goals — they did it, and you can too! Click the cover to begin!

Go For Your Goals... Dare To Live Your Dreams!

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