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UNDERSTANDING THE POWER OF GOAL SETTING FOR KIDS
In our busy worlds, when we are constantly overwhelmed by numerous tasks, personal goals and to do lists it is important to teach our children of tomorrow the power of goal setting.
As with everything it is important to emphasize to a child what goal setting actually does for them. It is a LOT more than just writing down what you want in your immediate future.
It is thinking hard about what you want, what is achievable, how much time it will take and much more.
Life can get overwhelming for the young mind of children. The most important step to learning how to be a person of perseverance is to understand why we need to be organized with our goals. With the many challenges that we come across in our daily to-do lists, it is important to be strong in our WHY.
I asked my son, ” How do you achieve a goal? “
” With practice! “, he exclaimed happily.
” What else do we need? “, I persisted.
” You need to study. “
” And what if you had many goals at the same time? “, I persisted.
He went quiet. Then, ” You would need to practice a LOT. But then what if you got really good at one of them. I wouldn’t want to do the rest. “
And we went on to discuss the many ways in which people go about achieving goals. But first I explained to him why creating goals, planning for them and keeping to them is important.
So, what is it exactly that goal setting teaches us?
Being a Decision Maker
As I mentioned earlier, a person might have a number of goals. From the simplest tasks like reading daily, doing homework, exercise to complex ones like wanting to learn how to put together different kinds of Lego creations.
Teaching kids the power of goal setting let them understand what is important because they have a “Specific Goal” to look at and refocus on their resources.
Accepting Limitations
My son often gets totally exasperated when he gets involved in a personal project. He wants to make every Lego creation of Minecraft and Legos themes all at once. They all have to be done before bed.
Having a big goal, say making one Lego creation daily or weekly teaches children that it is often more rewarding to see some output daily rather than get frustrated when nothing gets done.
Perseverance
There will be failure. Some days they will fell asleep before reading their daily book. Other days they will be too tired to work on their personal projects. And, that is okay. They will have to take the lead the next day and talk themselves into believing that they have to keep going.
It teaches them life is not a sprint but a marathon and every little bit of effort adds up.
Prioritization
Often in life, we never know what we need to do first. That very often leads to unnecessary complications. Goal setting teaches kids to put the goals they have set before all else and that in itself is a quality to develop. It teaches putting self and important goals ahead of all else.
Respect of Time
It is sad with the amount of time we save with machines we tend to take our and others’ time for granted. Goal setting is a great way to ensure kids learn to quantify the amount of time and effort that goes into tracking their progress.
This teaches them not only to respect time but also to respect others’ efforts.
Self-Motivation
Very often we tend to find it is hard to keep up with our desired aims. Self-doubt and the fear of failure hamper working toward our goals. When they fail in the process, when they wonder if they could reach their goals or they have to let go children learn from it. When they succeed to achieve their goal in spite of temporary setbacks, kids learn about self-motivation.
You can find 7 simplest ways to teach kids how to set goals and perseverance here. FREE TEMPLATE for setting goals, planning, and tracking is included.
What goals have you and your children set for yourselves this year? Spend some time over the weekend or take some time off to work on creating and planning goals for yourself and as a family. It is a great way to connect with your children!
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Aditi Wardhan Singh
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What a great post! I’m saw this in my e-mail inbox and had to open the article. I’m currently unschooling my older daughter, but just for a semester. I’m sharing this post with some friends in my community. Thank you for this! 🙂