Setting goals is within everyone’s reach. You don’t need to be wealthy, highly intelligent, or live in a developed country to set goals. All our children need to set goals is to answer the following questions and write down the answers in a place where they can regularly review them:

• What do I want to become (profession, role, etc.)?
• What do I want to have (material and immaterial possessions)?
• What do I want to leave behind (material and immaterial legacy)?

For example, we can start by helping them set academic goals in the following way:

• I want to be the top student in my class.
• I will achieve an average of 16/20 on every exam.
• I will leave an excellent reputation at this school.

The goal here is to make our children understand that they should not undertake anything without a clear purpose. When they start setting goals, they will begin to live intentionally. They will gradually start taking control of their lives instead of letting circumstances decide for them.

Goals Help Discern What Is Useful and What Is Not

When our children learn to set goals, they will gradually know the difference between what helps them achieve their goals and what hinders them. A child who sets the goal of saving €1,000 in a year will understand that buying a new phone, clothes, shoes, video games, toys, and similar things are unnecessary expenses. This child will, however, know that it is useful to grow their money by investing it, lending it with interest, or putting it in a savings account.

A child who aims to achieve 16/20 on every exam throughout the school year will understand that watching TV, spending time on social networks, and playing video games regularly are unnecessary pastimes. This child will know that it is useful to study regularly and always stay ahead of the school curriculum. They will know that it is useful to do much more exercises than the teacher assigns.

What Our Children Become While Trying to Achieve the Goal Is More Valuable Than the Goal Itself

My 11-year-old son and 9-year-old daughter set a financial goal to save €2,500 per year to buy land in Africa. My children plan to make this type of acquisition every year.

Since they set this goal, I have noticed that they do personal research on creating businesses. They work on projects and do not hesitate to ask me for advice, as well as from parents, uncles, and aunts who are already entrepreneurs in certain sectors. They asked me to create a workspace for them in the garage. For some time now, they have been working with an aunt who is a fashion designer on creating their own brands of T-shirts and sweatshirts, which they plan to sell online.

The initiatives my children take, the experiences they gain, and the new contacts they make are more valuable than the land they plan to buy. Even if they do not manage to save the €2,500 by the end of the year, they will have made significant progress in their development. This development would not have been possible if they had not set ambitious goals. When we teach our children to set ambitious goals, we give them the opportunity to do things they have never done and that they would never have considered doing without a goal.

This is how our children will step out of their comfort zone and engage on the path of hard work, discipline, rigor, patience, perseverance, and excellence. All these qualities they will develop on their journey toward achieving their projects will be major assets for their future success.

Children’s Goals Should Be SMART

A goal must meet several criteria to be effective. These criteria are grouped into the acronym SMART, first attributed to George T. Doran. A SMART goal is Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-bound.

• Specific: A specific goal is clear, precise, and understandable. A complex goal slows down action, while a simple goal promotes efficiency in action.
  • Example: “I want to save €1,200” instead of “I want to achieve great financial feats.”
• Measurable: A measurable goal can be quantified or qualified. Quantification makes it easy to assess the resources needed to achieve this goal.
  • Example: “I will lose 10 kilograms or save €1,200” instead of “I want to become slim and save.”
• Achievable: An achievable goal is a reasonable goal that encourages participants’ commitment to it. The achievable goal is more easily accepted by all participants.
  • Example: “I want to get 16/20 in all subjects” instead of “I want to get 20/20 in all subjects.”
• Realistic: A realistic goal has a defined threshold of realism, meaning a level where the challenge motivates the most participants and avoids abandonment as the goal progresses.
  • Example: “I want to run for 30 minutes every day” instead of “I will run for 6 hours every day.”
• Time-bound: A time-bound goal is limited in time: a deadline with, possibly, intermediate dates. The goal must be clearly defined in time with precise terms like “within 3 months” rather than vague terms like “as soon as possible.”
  • Example: “I want to save €1,200 in 12 months” instead of “I want to save €1,200.”

This text is an excerpt from the book “HOW TO HELP OUR CHILDREN SUCCEED BETTER” written by Dominique MBOG.

We invite you to read the following article “The Forms of Children’s Intelligence.”