Family Goal Setting
Who Needs To Set Goals? Your Whole Family!
By Robert Davis
Family goal setting is far more difficult than setting personal goals. This is because each individual in the family has different requirements, needs, and ambitions. That is why anyone trying to set a goal for the entire family needs to ask several questions. Some of these questions concern:
1. Family Time. Is there a member of the family who needs more support? Is there a sibling relationship that needs mending right away? Have there been enough memorable moments that everyone in the family can look back fondly upon. If not, then you need to set some goals to this effect.
2. Children's development. Before setting goals, you must know the weaknesses and strengths of your children. You should especially know what brings them joy and what hurts them most. You must also assess their emotional, physical, and intellectual growth before assigning them tasks.
3. Your partner. This is a very ticklish area. You need to dissect the relationship to find out if you have any unspoken issues. Dig around a bit and you will know what sort of goals you should focus on.
4. Extended family. In the case of your extended family, you need to decide the people who are most important to you. Who do you want to keep in touch with? This will put things in perspective and help you set your goals.
5. Professional life. Where do you want to be by next year? And at what cost? Are you happy with what you are doing now, or are you brave enough to admit otherwise? These are some of the questions that you must ask yourself before setting professional goals.
6. Things to do. There are a million things to do when you have a family, and it is not just doing the dishes. Are there vacations that you want to take? Or an annual party that you want to throw? Do you want to add a new room to the house? Or change the upholstery? All this may sound trivial, but they add up to big changes. Having a set of "what to do next" goals is a must.
No matter what people tell you, happy families are not just a product of luck; they are the result of careful planning and hard work.
Robert Davis writes for several well-known online magazines, on family advice and home and family subjects.
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