With the rise in technology and the role media plays in the growth process of our children, it is now more important than ever to be intentional about what our children hear, see and watch. As the evergreen quote of Benjamin Franklin states “If you fail to plan then you are planning to fail”
So, if our children would grow up to become greats and become captains of industries in the nearest future then we have to be intentional about their growth process and not leave it to chance.
One of the ways we can help our kids grow intentionally is by teaching them how to set SMART goals. The importance of setting goals in today’s world cannot be overemphasized, great leaders around the world like the president of the world trade center Ngozi Okonjo Iweala, the president of the United States Joe Biden, and many others are known for their goal-setting capacity.
Brain Tracy; a goal-setting expert In his book “GOALS” states “you must have one goal that, if you accomplish can do more to help you improve your life than any other single goal”
If goals are this important, how can we help our children set SMART goals?
Firstly, we need to understand what SMART goals are.
SMART is an acronym that means Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time-Bound
Specific: A simple, highly specific endpoint should be included in the objective. Your target will not be SMART if it is too large.
Measurable: You need to be able to reliably monitor the progress in order to determine when a target will be achieved.
Attainable: Setting an overly ambitious goal, on the other hand, will make it difficult to achieve. This will deplete the motivation in the short and long term.
Relevant: The goal you choose should be relevant to your chosen field or directly benefit you.
Time-Bound: Finally, giving your goal a time frame helps you to calculate it and keep your mind on track.
It is also important to consider what our kids need to focus on, develop in, or understand better before they choose which goal to pursue, it is also important that we should help them set goals that are worthwhile. We should guide them in choosing something that interests them or a skill that they would need for life. For example, we could help our kids to set a goal to learn a skill like graphics design, a programming language, robotics, and animation.
