Goals can inspire and motivate us to plan for our futures. However, setting goals is a skill that takes practice. This section of the SoCAP Builder Toolkit provides activities that you and your Little can do together to help set goals that align with your Little's passions, interests, and talents, also known as your Little's sparks.
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Research shows that goal setting is one of the most important activities you can do with your Little. Helping your Little set and pursue their goals can result in:
A stronger mentoring relationship
Greater meaning and purpose
Greater academic success and wellbeing
Tip #1: Focus on Youth Sparks
Help your Little discover what their sparks are. Sparks are our interests, special talents, skills, and passions. We are more likely to reach goals that align with our sparks and strengths. Setting goals can feel more manageable when we are working towards something we are particularly excited about!
Tip #2: Make Sure It's Your Little's Goal, Not Yours
It can be easy to want to influence a young person's goal - especially if we see something that they may not. Make sure that you are not unitentionally deciding what your Little's goal is for them. It is important to also be aware of our own biases (both positive and negative). We may have thoughts on what the "right" goal is for a particular young person. However, it is important to affirm young people's goals and to help them reflect on and uncover their spark that is worth pursuing.
Tip #3: Introduce Goal Setting as a Tool
Sometimes setting goals can feel awkward or like homework. Help your Little see goal setting as a tool that can help them make progress for reaching their dreams. You might even model how you set goals for yourself and talk about how this can become a regular part of your routine.
Tip #4: We Don't Reach All of the Goals We Set
It can be disappointing when we set a goal and we work hard to follow a plan to meet it and then we don't. It is important for your Little to know that sometimes we don't always meet our goals and it can be an opportunity to think about how we might do things differently next time or how we may need to adjust our goals. It can also be helpful to share a personal story of a time when you did not quite meet a goal you set for yourself and/or how you navigated setbacks and challenges along the way.
Tip #5: Take Time to Celebrate.
Reaching goals often is a huge achievement and can involve a lot of effort and hard work. Make sure to take time to reflect and celebrate on even the little wins and successes to help your Little build confidence.
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Additional resources for goal setting:
Activities for Setting Goals Aligned with Youth Sparks
We recommend starting with Identifying & Sharing Sparks to support youth in seeing their strengths as they set goals. Other activities can be completed in any order.
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