Use for Young Women, Young Men, Seminary, Family Home Evening, Primary Sharing Time or Activity Days
LESSON LIFESAVER Activity
My Future Looks Bright! Goal Planner
OBJECTIVE. The lesson helps youth understand how setting short-range goals can help her to achieve long-range goals. More Information: “Short-range goals as stepping stones”
TO MAKE. Download and print the activity in color or black and white.
ACTIVITY. Help youth realize that their future looks bright as they plan for a sparkling life. With this form, they can project what they want to be and what they want to do. With this goal planner, they can choose a goal and use the six steps to make short-range goals that will help them achieve success!
THOUGHT TREAT: Long and Short Licorice Pieces. Write on slips of paper 25 long-range goal ideas and 25 short-range goal ideas. Place ideas in a container. Take turns drawing and reading them while others guess if the goal is long- or short-range. The first three to say “short range” or “long-range” earn a short or long piece of licorice.
MUTUAL-NIGHT ACTIVITIES
GOAL ANTICIPATION EXERCISES: Have youth think of ways they can anticipate their future, looking forward to the next goal.
WISH TO PURSUE POSTER OR BULLETIN BOARD: Youth can post pictures of things they wish to pursue and add pictures or brochures or drawings of what they look forward to. They can even post a recipe they want to try or post a goal they wish to pursue. This is where they can post notes about their goals.
MINDMAP GOALS. They can create an outline of the things they are thinking about, drawing lines for the main idea, then adding lines that support the ideas. For example, they could draw a line across a poster to map out their life year by year to write their life history. They could also do mind-mapping to outline their goals and specific steps to achieve each.
LADDER APPROACH. Have young women anticipate the next step they will take in the future as they are taking their present step. Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Concentration is the secret of strength.”
FUTURE LOOK Goal Questions (Discussion):
• How does reaching goals help build your confidence?
– Every little success brings satisfaction as you have overcome obstacles.
– It creates momentum as you feel you can take on bigger challenges. You are learning that difficulties can be managed, giving you confidence.
– You develop new skills that can become second nature to you, increasing your competence.
– This success reinforces self-trust, knowing you can do this again and each time improving.
How can the Youth Goals help you make good choices and work toward the future you want?
• What habits or actions can help you stay motivated and achieve the goals you set?
MINI-HABITS are great to start with as they are simple and don’t take a lot of time. Start with one each day; you’ll be surprised how much you can do.
For example, think about a fitness challenge. If you set a goal to exercise three times a week and stick with it for a month, you’ll likely feel more confident not only about your fitness but also about your ability to maintain other positive habits.
Confidence grows over time through repeated experiences of setting realistic goals, making progress, and recognizing what you’ve achieved.
• How can prayer and listening to the Spirit guide you as you set goals and work to accomplish them? Because we are given agency to make choices, inspiration can come, but more often if we ask for guidance. This way we can have a steady flow of motivation and have more incentive to make right-choice decisions. Plus, we are promised as we obey God’s commandments we can find inspiration.
John 14:15-17 Jesus teaches, “If ye love me, keep my commandments,” and promises that in doing so, He will send the Comforter (the Holy Ghost) to abide with you.
• Why is it important to keep setting new goals throughout your life, even after you achieve some of them?
• How can you support and encourage your friends, family, or quorum/class members as they work toward their goals?