Proven Goal Setting Ideas to Inspire Youth in a Post-Pandemic World

Proven Goal Setting Ideas to Inspire Youth in a Post-Pandemic World

My experience mentoring over a thousand teenagers has taught me one definitive lesson: when a young person knows how to set specific, realistic and measurable goals and is accountable to a non-judgmental cheerleader, lives gain meaning and purpose and positive changes occur. After all, you are teaching a lifelong skill. Mentors are always looking for ideas to encourage their mentees to enter the world of goal setting. A few proven ideas, many of which I have experienced, all of which have been followed in youth mentoring programs can include:

• Encourage your mentees to draw their goals in pictures, diagrams, flow charts, or mind maps, expressing them in vivid detail.
• Describe the desired end on tape i.e, mentees hear themselves speaking or are videotaped describing their goals and imagining they have already achieved them.
• Mentees create their own poster board and place it somewhere they will look at it often. Create a collage of the things they want from magazines, brochures, and other resources, knowing full well that as they look at them every day, they will soon be theirs.
• Your mentee starts a savings account to begin learning the value of money.
• Select a charity and encourage your mentee to join you in investing some of their time and energy, appreciating the importance of service to the community.
• Your mentee reads one novel a week or month to improve their level of English.
• You help your mentee join a local library and explore all the opportunities available to them within.
• Your mentee sets performance goals in school work or skills, other studies, or training being undertaken.
• Your mentee considers home responsibilities such as carrying out duties, cleaning their room, feeding pets, or walking the dog.
• Trying out for selection of a sports team or cultural group or some other interest group – what will be required?
• Encourage mentees to identify something they wish to purchase. How will they raise the money?
• Learning to drive a car – what processes are required?
• Give your mentee a puzzle without them being able to see the picture. When they become frustrated, let them see the picture so they can complete it. Lesson? It’s better to know what you want before you begin, so that you learn to persevere and persist and do, not become distracted and give up.
• Trace the genealogy of your mentee’s family. How far back can you go?
• Encourage your mentee to join a Club, youth group, community group, faith group or cultural group.
• Your mentee considers reducing TV watching time. What is involved? What are the best programs they wish to watch? It’s all about priorities!
• Your mentee makes a plan to ensure they receive at least nine hours sleep a night.
• Your mentee considers ways of developing and nurturing positive friendships, or improving relationships with siblings, or other family members.
• Your mentee draws up a weekly exercise program.
• Your mentee designs and follows a personal budget plan.
• Your mentee furthers his or her education by attending a course, or a particular training program.

In a global community rocked by a global pandemic young people more than ever are going to value a mentor journeying alongside them through an important season in their life as they seek meaning and purpose.