Goal-Setting

Last Sunday, I sat down with my 8-year-old to look back at all the things she’d learned this year. “Remember when you couldn’t tie your shoes?” I asked. Her eyes lit up. “Now I can do it so fast!” Instead of immediately telling her what to work on next, I remembered our family’s commitment to the Life-Ready approach. I asked, “What do you want to learn next? What goals feel important to you?” The look of thoughtfulness mixed with growing excitement on her face told me we had a perfect opportunity to practice self-reflection and goal-setting in a low-stakes environment. ...

We are a culture obsessed with goals. In a world of hyper-parenting and achievement culture, we push our children to set SMART goals, aim for the stars, and never give up. But what if this approach is not only ineffective for children, but also actively harmful? This article argues that our modern obsession with achievement-oriented goal-setting is broken, and offers a more effective, science-backed approach for raising resilient, happy, and intrinsically motivated kids. ...