How to Help High School Students Set and Track Achievable Goals

Introduce goals setting to your teens as a way of helping them plan and work toward their big dreams.

Hey there my friends! Thank you for joining me this week as we delve into the world of teaching our teenagers how to set big goals for themselves.

I’ve done a lot of research about this topic and have realized that adults often tell teens to think about their talents and what they’re good at when setting goals. I have a different take on this, which I also believe applies to adults.

Our Talents

When you ask your teens what they’re good at or about their talents, many of them will pause for a bit. Some may give you a long list, but the majority of them are still trying to figure this out. If you choose to use this as a starting point for creating goals, teach this concept first for a while.

However, even if you teach them this, you may not be setting them up for success. This is because you’re asking them to limit themselves. Instead, encourage them to explore the world around them. Therefore, while it’s good to assess a child’s talents and abilities, it’s just as important to look beyond that. What do I mean? Keep reading!

Look Within Yourself

Ask your children what’s important to them? What do they want to do? Just like in the post I where I wrote about Goal-Setting Tips to Create an Extraordinary Life, encourage your children or students to dream big. Then have them choose specific goals, which can be broken down into actionable steps as was discussed in Setting Achievable Goals to Increase Productivity and Confidence.

I am not encouraging unrealistic dreams, but asking you to foster a sense of wonder within them. You can accomplish this by helping them see that their dreams are possible and that they are only limited by lack of knowledge in a specific area. This can always be acquired. Therefore, once they specify their goals, they’ll be able to see what they need to learn, how long it will take to reach their goal, who they need to talk to and so much more.

Final Thoughts

I am a mother and a teacher. Therefore, it is my job to ensure that my children understand that they’re capable of more than they believe. When you apply this principle, you’re showing your children that you believe in them and that they can accomplish anything (within reason) that they set their mind to as long as they have a realistic plan set into motion. These plans may require tweaking along the way, but the more specific they can get with their goals, the easier it will be for them to visualize their end goal and make it a reality. Beyond just planning, they also need to start taking actionable steps toward it.

Next Week

Thank you so much for joining me. Next week, we’ll be having a discussion about selfcare to maintain our work-life balance.

I would love to hear about your goal setting progress with your teens in the comments below. For now though, grab your FREE planning roadmap for this post and enjoy dreaming big and gaining momentum.

While the above roadmap is a great starting point for goal-setting, the following, which is a more comprehensive guide, will go into more depth and will focus on my 6 step goal-setting plan for success.