Blog
Helping Kids Reach Their Goal
Let’s be honest. Kids don’t really think about their future. Kids live for today, but is it possible to train them to plan for the future?
Yes it is. I find that kids are willing to learn and can be taught almost anything, but it takes someone like you who is willing to take the time to teach them.
This begins with finding something that they are already motived to do and then come up with a plan to get there.
Teach your kids to ask themselves this question, What can I do today to move closer where I want to be?
Be careful not to answer it for them. Try to let them figure it out. If they think it is their idea there is a much better chance that they will do it.
When I signed up for little league baseball I struck out a lot. One day I heard my coach say, “If you want to improve your batting, practice hitting a whiffle ball in your back yard”.
I did not understand how hitting a whiffle ball would improve my hand-eye coordination. I just believed what my coach said. My goal was to become a better hitter. My strategy was to practice hitting a whiffle ball.
I hit a whiffle ball every day after school for two weeks and then one day I hit a home run in a real game. After that my coach had me batting clean up for the rest of the season. The same concept works for every area of life:
- School – If I study I will get good grades on my test.
- Career – If I want to own my own business I need to get good at math.
- Finances – If I want to buy a car when I am sixteen I need to save my money.
• Practicing for sports or piano teaches them the concept of hard work.
• Saving for a car teaches them to say ‘no’ to themselves and to prepare for the future. This much better than just giving them whatever they want.
• When they get a good grade after studying for a test it teaches them the positive side of the law of sowing of reaping. This gives them a good understanding of how the real world operates.
When kids do these things on a small scale it gives them a sense of control and they develop good habits that will stay with them for life.
