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Setting Goals

Setting Goals

young woman and leader with books

Purpose

Where do you want to be a year from now? Five years from now? You’re more likely to get there if you set goals—both spiritual and temporal—and make a plan to achieve them.

Description

As a group, choose a place you’ve never visited and plan how you would get there. Your destination may be as close as a neighboring town or as far as another part of the world.

  • How will you get there, and what will you do when you arrive? Decide on your route and where you will stop.

  • Make a list of items you would need to bring.

  • Make a list of other preparations to consider, such as where to sleep (if you’re staying overnight), meals, and so on.

Once you have planned your trip, discuss how you would actually make preparations. What should be done first, second, and third?

Now compare goal setting to planning a trip. How do you determine where you want to go? What smaller steps do you have to take to accomplish your goal? If there is more than one way to reach a goal, how do you determine the best way?

Invite each participant to set at least one long-term goal and at least three smaller milestones toward achieving that goal. They could use the My Goal form or Gospel Living app to set their goals. Consider inviting participants to share their goals and milestones with the group.

More Ideas

  • Vision poster—Create a collage or poster representing one of your goals. You can use your own words and drawings or cut out words and pictures from appropriate magazines or newspapers. Include things that will motivate you to accomplish your goal.

  • Getting from here to there—Invite participants to gather in a circle. Encourage each participant to take a turn sitting or standing in the middle of the circle and sharing a long-term goal, such as saving money for a mission or for school, preparing to receive temple ordinances, or applying for higher education. As a group, first list obstacles or decisions that could stop the person from reaching the goal. Then list what the person could do to overcome or avoid those obstacles.

  • Balanced goals—Give each participant a Needs and Interests form and ask them to fill out the four sections: “Physical,” “Social,” “Intellectual,” and “Spiritual.” Ask them to write down their interests and priorities in each category. Then encourage them to choose one thing they want to work on and make a goal to accomplish it.

    • You could also give participants copies of the worksheet in the New Era article “3 Ways Setting Goals Can Be Different This Year” to help them plan how to achieve these goals.

    • Give group members a chance to share their goals with the group.

    • You may also want to have a follow-up activity where participants can report their progress and celebrate the goals they have achieved.

  • Guest speaker or panel—Invite one or more people who have achieved a major goal to talk about how they organized themselves and overcame obstacles to reach that goal. Invite participants to ask questions. Encourage them to record the things they learn in their personal journals.

Discussion

Encourage participants to talk about what they are learning. Discussions can take place before, during, or after the activity. You could ask questions like the following:

  • Why do you think it is important to set and achieve goals?

  • When have you been blessed by setting a goal?

  • What feelings or impressions do you have about goal setting?

  • How can you apply what you are learning in your life?

Related Resources

Sabbath Day Lessons

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