Setting Family Goals

Every family could use a little bit of help in setting family goals. Perhaps your family wants to take a really fantastic vacation together this year. That three day romantic getaway just for the parents that never seems to happen, or the home improvement project no one ever seems to have time for.

Most families live in a certain budget. Living within budget can help your family pay off those credit cards once and for all and realize your child’s dreams of going to college or your dream of getting a bigger and better house.

Perhaps your family’s goal is to see your kids go from a C average to a B or have more quality family time together. Maybe you want to start your own home-based business so that you can spend more time with your family.

Yet, each and every one of these worthy goals can easily be achieved in a somewhat remarkable and FUN way.

In fact, when you know how, working toward a goal can be more fun than achieving the goal can. If you want to add some real teamwork in your family and deepen your family relationships, you must set goals with your spouse and with your kids.

Just make sure that anyone who participates in the goal setting process is motivated enough to follow through. Anyone who is not fully committed to achieving the goal should not be allowed to participate or reap the rewards.

If you really want to teach your kids something worthwhile that will help with every aspect of their lives as long as they live, teach them how to set goals.

Here's the step by step goal-setting system that seems to work for everyone who's tried it. It will work with basically any goal you can imagine and in specific, family goals that you can achieve together.

It is a great way to get the whole family working together toward a positive environment. If nothing else, your family will have a great time trying.

1. Dream the Goal

Make a list of everything that you each think you want: all the goals you think you want to achieve. They may involve money, or material things, or better relationships, or a special vacation, or a change in your personal attitudes or habits.

Get some paper and a pen and go somewhere where you can be completely alone and uninterrupted. Write down everything that comes to mind, being careful not to judge or dismiss any of your ideas. Remember that every member of the family should do this as well. You will all compare and agree to compromise on which goals to work toward first, etc..

After you have this long list of goals written down, put the list away for a few days. Some of the things you wrote may begin creating a burning energy in your mind.

Review your list in about a week and see which of the goals you're still interested in. Anything that you don't feel strongly about should be removed from the list. Goal setting will not work if you're not really motivated to achieve the goal. Have your family members do the same.

After you identify the goal or goals that you want to work on, start writing everything down. A spiral notebook just for your goals might be very helpful. Write down your goal on the first page of your notebook and you can all start formulating them in order of the least to most important.

Continue to the next step of your goal setting guide by clicking this link: How to Set Family Goals Part 2