In today’s high-tech, fast-paced
world, young people are faced with more opportunities—and more
decisions—than ever before. As they race around trying
to meet the demands of school, family, and their ever-expanding
social circles, they sometimes lose sight of what they want most
out of life.
Help lead a young person toward achievement and
fulfillment by guiding him or her through this goal-setting
process specifically designed for teens and preteens.
Step One: Brainstorm.
Ask your teen to write down anything and everything that he or
she wants to do, be, have, achieve, and create; these may be
short-term, intermediate or long-term goals. Allow him or her
plenty of time to ponder the endless possibilities—no goal is
too big or too small!
Keep in mind: Achievers never start by asking “What do I
do?” Instead, they ask “What do I want?”
For example, does your teen want to…
- Graduate high school with honors?
- Try a new sport or make the Varsity team?
- Audition for the school play?
- Get a summer job or internship to earn money for school?
- Attend a certain college?
- Buy a car or a computer?
- Be in a committed relationship?
- Get in shape?
Step Two: Assign deadlines.
Next, help your teen determine how long it will take to achieve
each goal—and be realistic! Will it take one week? One year?
Five years? Teach him or her a crucial fact of life: You
can’t manage what you can’t measure.
Step Three: Rewrite.
Review the list with your teen, and narrow it down by having him
or her circle four of the most important one-year goals. Then,
revise and rewrite these goals until they are both clear and
compelling! Learn the power of focus: Narrowing your goals down
to four enables you to focus on what’s really important.
Step Four: List reasons.
Finally, help your teen compose a list of reasons for committing
to achieve each of these four goals—no matter what.
Turn on some music and encourage your teen to feel the energy
as he or she writes, as this is the most important step in the
process. Remember: Your ability to achieve something comes from
your ability to tap into your sense of meaning.
Think your teen could benefit from learning more
strategies like this? Goal setting is just one of the many
tools and techniques that thousands of
12 to 17-year-olds worldwide have learned at
Discovery Camp since its inception in 2004.
Designed specifically for young people, Discovery Camp
is Tony Robbins’ four-day program for helping teens create
breakthroughs, move beyond fears and limiting beliefs, and
accomplish goals while realizing true desires. Participants
cultivate meaningful relationships and learn to model strategies
that produce dramatic and lasting results.
More on ---
Family
nutrition ---
Parenting
---
Families
