Goal Setting For Teens (2022)
Being in high school and college helped me realize the importance of setting goals on time. At times, I look back and think about what I could have done differently that would have helped me do better. I’ve gone from having no goals to having a detailed list.
It’s my hope this article helps you understand the importance of helping your child set goals. Not only their significance but how you can assist them in setting goals that will keep them motivated, help them develop a work ethic, and boost their self-confidence.
Why is Goal setting important?
If you’re a parent, I’m sure you know a thing or two about goal setting. Having clear goals that you can follow is crucial in helping your teenager succeed at getting to where they want to go.
From school to future careers, goals should encompass many aspects of their lives. Setting goals can push them to accomplish the unexpected as well. Whether it’s making a sports team or getting into their top college pick, they can set goals to ensure the experiences they most desires are fulfilled—all of this through hard work, of course.
Short Term and Long Term Goals
Two branches to knowing how to help your teenager set goals are long-term and short-term goals. Long-term goals are what they desire for their distant future. Short-term goals are the building blocks to achieving those long-term goals.
For example, if their long-term goal is to get into college, they have to do well in their high school classes. So their short-term goal could be to study each night to pass the hard math final.
SMART Goals
SMART stands for specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely. It’s a method of goal setting that might help your teenager find great success.
Specific: What is the particular goal I want to set? Specific goals need to be easy to define and pretty much straightforward. Broad terms won’t cut it here.
Measurable: How can I measure the progress I am making? How do you go about tracking the progress you have made? Come up with benchmarks or milestones that help you know you’re moving forward.
Attainable: Is it reasonable? Do I have the skills and resources to reach my objective? Lofty goals are fine, but make sure you have a realistic path to achieving success.
Relevant: Why does this goal matter to me? Why is it important to you that you reach this Goal? Knowing the why can help keep a teenager inspired and motivated.
Timely: What is my timeframe to achieve the goal? By what date exactly? Setting a date can keep teens focused on the obligation they gave themself to finish.
SMART Goal examples
A goal must be specific. Just saying, for example, I want to go to college isn’t detailed enough. I want to get into the University of Central Florida, now that’s better.
When teenagers are specific with their goals, their path to get to that end goal becomes more precise. Their goals must be measurable. Help them know what GPA and other requirements are necessary for acceptance into that university. Guide them into measuring their studying habits, grades, extracurricular activities, and so on.
Examples of attainability could be knowing if they have the time to get their GPA where they need it to be. Guidance counselors might be helpful with providing a better understanding.
Relevance, as mentioned, refers to why they want to achieve that specific goal. Without relevance, there is no meaning and drive behind setting it. Do they want to go to university because that’s the standard that society sets, or do they want to pursue a career where they need to finish a certain degree?
And finally, their goal must be timely, in other words, how long it will take them to achieve that Goal. As with the university example, there is always an end to high school, so for many teens, it would be to get accepted and start university right after school.
For others, they may want to take a year off. Overall, setting that end date is key to completing your Goal.
What If Teenagers Don’t Have Goals Set?
Many times at a young age, we don’t even know or think about our future. Instead, we look at the present and don’t understand how our future realities can impact us one day.
Goals involving studying and doing homework could be the difference between attending college or failing high school. This is why it is imperative to at least start teens off with SMART short-term goals.
We can help them feel secure in their abilities of achievement. Beginning with setting a goal to pass an exam, join a sports team, work on their homework, and so on is much better than telling them to get straight A’s. Letting your teen understand how to set proper goals from an early age will make their time in high school and beyond much easier and more fulfilled.
Some suggestions when Goal Setting
From personal experience, I’ve found writing down the objectives I want to achieve daily to be helpful. Teens can write down their main goal down and make it one of their top priorities of the day.
It’s also good to be encouraging and supportive to help keep them pushing themselves. Encourage a teen to create a vision board so they can keep their main motivation in mind.
Goal setting can be the pathway to a bright future. Help your teen get started today, and watch them flourish into productive members of society.