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Parenting Principle #13- Goal Setting
By Bob Kalle
There is a saying that if you don’t know the destination, you will never get there. It is always a good idea to know and review your goals whenever you can. It might be good to review your goals and the goals of your children when a new school year starts. Another time to reflect on our goals might be when a new activity starts, like a sports season. Everyone should be on the same page so everyone is pulling in the same direction. I also like to review my goals for the year when a new year starts. This gives me a direction for the year. It doesn’t matter when you set or review your goals, but the setting of goals serves as a guide on an everyday basis and also gives you a chance to celebrate the small victories as you go along.
When I plan for the year, I focus on five areas. These areas are the same as my value system. They include my spiritual goals, my family goals, my financial goals, and things I would like to accomplish with friends and fun. This gives me an outline to follow. When I review my list, hopefully on a daily basis, it guides my behavior to work toward accomplishing the goals I have set.This review gives me ideas on where to focus for the day. You can use any outline or set of goals that feels comfortable to you.
This may be a good system to teach your children, the idea of goal setting. As they reach adulthood and go to work, they will usually have to set goals at work. We know that goal-setting is an important aspect of success, so why not teach it to children at a young age?
Also, many goals are long term or will take some time. By breaking the goal down to smaller steps, it keeps you focused and moving forward. How do you eat an elephant, one bite at a time. Good luck with your goal setting.
