Sometimes we think of goal setting for New Year’s Eve but today I want to talk about how important it is to set goals for the beginning of the school year too!
Here’s why we need to set goals. They help us stay focused on the things we want to achieve. We need to walk into the school year setting our intentions for the year. These intentions can be academic related, or school activity related. Maybe you want to make the soccer team this year or be in the school play. You need to think about how you’re going to get there!
So, let’s get into some things we can do to set some goal for this brand-new school year!
Here are some FREE PRINTABLES to help you!
Make your goal a little outside your comfort zone but yet achievable.
Don’t set a goal like I’m going to take all honors classes and get straight A’s and join 5 clubs and be the captain of the soccer and volleyball team this year. Meanwhile, you never played those sports and you never got an A on your report card. I’m all about dreaming big and working toward a goal but the goal does need to be somewhat achievable too.
Next, you need to look at your personal situation. Look at your class schedule and your after-school schedule and see what all the clubs and sports entail. Are they at the same time? Do they conflict with each other? There just aren’t enough hours in a day for all that.
Pick one to two things that you can do first quarter or first semester that makes sense with your schedule. If you want to get all A’s and B’s this year, then set a goal for that. Think about the time and dedication it will take for you to achieve that goal.
Break your goal down into steps.
Say your goal is to make the basketball team and yo never played before. Well, the first thing you need to do is start practicing in your backyard. You can’t show up to the tryout without ever touching a basketball ball. Set a goal to find a hoop and shoot 50 baskets a day. Next, start working on your dribbling. Then you keep on breaking down your steps from there. When you start with the end result and work backwards it can help you break down the steps you need to reach that goal. You will see what it takes and you will have the steps to do it!
Lastly, give yourself grace!
You may be thinking what?? When I say give yourself grace what I mean is to forgive yourself and let yourself off the hook sometimes. You don’t always need to be pushing so hard that you forget to have fun, make friends, or spend time with family this school year.
School is important, I mean I’m a teacher, but you need to make sure you aren’t so hard on yourself when you make a mistake. If your goal is to get all A’s and B’s and you get a bad grade on one test, I want to give yourself some grace. Think about maybe what you could have done differently, talk to the teacher, stay for extra help and be ready for the next one.
Don’t give up, get mad at yourself and not push through it. Sometimes we need to take a step back and give ourselves grace and get back up again. Setting goals and acting on them is really brave. Here’s the thing, you will get knocked down. You can’t control that. What you can control though is how you react to it. Will you give up and throw in the towel when you get a bad grade or don’t make the team? Or will you get back up and work hard to try again.
Did you know that Michael Jordan didn’t make his high school basketball team? I mean how crazy is that. Did that stop him? I think you know the answer to that. It doesn’t feel good to get sidetracked from your goal or knocked down, but I am challenging you to make sure you get back up and go again.
I hope these tips were helpful and that you will head over to the show notes and get my Back-to-school series free printables. It is filled with things to set yourself up for success for the school year! Now let’s go set some goals for the school year! Are you ready?
Don’t forget these free printables!
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