|
 ---Turning Small Goals into Big Dreams--- |
WHY set goals? Setting goals allows
you to choose where you want to go in life. Goals and aspirations provide
a sense of direction for your daily activities. They help you focus on
the things that you believe are important. You can achieve more and improve
your self-confidence by setting and achieving goals. Research has shown
(Damon Burton, 1983) that people who identify their dreams suffer less
from stress, perform better, and are generally happier and more satisfied
in life.
1. Think about what you want to achieve in your lifetime. Brainstorm a list of goals, dreams, and aspirations. Make sure the dreams you set are goals that YOU choose, not what your parents, family, or classmates believe they should be. Everyone is different. No dream is too small or too large. What you value in life may not always be the same as what those around you value. For example, one person's dream of having a large family and being a homemaker is just as important as another person's dream of competing in the Olympics.
Learn
a few tricks about goal setting2. Read over your list and place a big star beside the 2 or 3 dreams or goals that mean the most to you. (It's okay if you can only choose 1 or 2.)
3. Which one of the starred dreams do you value the most
or consider your big lifetime dream? Click
here to see Taylor's BIG dream and the goals she set for herself. Click
here to print and create your very own Dream Sheet!
John Goddard, a famous explorer and adventurer, made an amazing list of 127 lifetime goals at the age of 15. His achievements as an adult are truly remarkable. Has he accomplished all 127 goals? Find out what this shy and scrawny boy did one stormy night when he should have been studying biology! But that was nothing compared to the time when he was charged by hippos or buried in a blinding sandstorm or nearly eaten by crocodiles. Just wait until you read about the time he had to live on a diet of roasted termites, fried locusts, stewed pythons, and barbecued warthogs! Read John Goddard's list of goals! Wow!
"If you really know what you want out of life, it's amazing how opportunities will come to enable you to carry them out." --John M. Goddard