Subscribe to the NetworkHelping Students Set Goals
Goal setting is an important concept to consider in guiding our teens to become fully functional adults in this world. Understanding what drives people is a first step in guiding our teens to set reasonable goals for their own lives. Psychologically, the will to live, the need to feel important, the need to be unique, and the need to love and be loved is what motivates most of us in our lives.
Whether we have a definite method of educating our teens about goal setting or not, we should remember that they are watching us to see how we plan our future and how we achieve our goals. Goal setting will give your teens direction. Following are a few things to remember related to goal setting.
Try the MAPS Principle:
1. For teenagers, goals must be Measurable. For many of us, goals tend to be vague and obscure instead of definite. Our teens should be able to tell if they have reached them or not.
2. Goals must be Attainable. Being able to reach them is important, so goals need to be reasonable and reachable.
3. Goals also must be Personal. Someone else’s goals will not necessarily be motivating to youth. This one is particularly difficult for parents because we tend to have goals for our children. However, unless those goals become their own, they are not likely to pursue them vigorously.
4. Finally, goals must be Specific. The best way for us to know if we have arrived at our goals is to be as specific as possible.
Teens need direction and guidance from us as parents. We must help them identify whether their goals are God’s goals or just their own. Here are three ways to help teens in defining their goals:
1. Prayer and Bible study. God will give them direction as they read His Word and prayerfully ask for His wisdom in decision making. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him (Jas. 1:5, NIV).
2. Guidance from family and friends. We have responsibility as parents to keep them on track and their mature friends can be a source of help as well.
3. Guidance from Christian leaders. A trusted staff member (pastor, youth minister, minister of education, etc.) as well as committed church members can guide youth toward godly goals.
Ultimately teenagers must use their own faith in the Lord as they set and progress toward the goals for their lives. Encourage them to follow Paul’s example: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus (Phil. 3:13-14, NIV).
