The Power of Goal Setting to Transform Lives
Goal Setting for Success: A Guide for Teacher-Mentors to Inspire Teens
Having mentored or coached over 1000 teenagers in 1:1 relationships, I am totally convinced that when they know how to set their personal best goals, they find that life has meaning and purpose, they embark on a lifelong self-learning journey and they value being accountable to a mentor, a non-judgmental cheerleader.

Teacher-Mentors could consider guiding their students through the following goal setting process:
- Decide what you want to accomplish. What is your passion or desire? If you had to find a job tomorrow, had all the qualifications you needed, had to pay rental, food, mobile phone and other costs, what would you choose to do?
- When do you want to accomplish it?
- Determine that the goal is believable to you.
- Where are you now?
- What obstacles do you need to overcome?
- What knowledge do you need to acquire?
- What peers and/or groups should you associate with?
- Develop an action plan including one step you can take today. Write this down, prioritizing all the action steps. Take action!
- See yourself accomplishing the goal. Write a visualization statement in the present tense of that picture. Play the picture over and over in your mind. Read your visualization statement daily.
- Decide never to quit until your goal is reached. Be persistent.
– (adapted) Della Menechella