Focusing on goals isn’t always easy, especially as some clients struggle to tune out distractions, manage pressure, and follow through with plans. While these challenges are normal, the right strategies can help keep our minds on our goals, which can also build resilience.
The Goal-focused Thinking handout offers five tips that guide clients in building a stronger sense of direction as a resilience building strategy. It teaches them to clarify their goals, stay flexible, celebrate progress, and more. Each tip includes specific bullet points to help break the concept into actionable steps.
Following these strategies can help kids and teens keep their attention on what’s most meaningful. One helpful activity to stay on track is to create a visual reminder of their goals, such as sticky notes or a journal with daily prompts.
Adults can also create regular goal check-in moments — these are brief pauses to reflect, realign, and celebrate effort. Teachers and parents might also encourage “goal journaling with a twist,” where young people write not only what they want to achieve but also how they want to feel while working toward it.
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References:
- Al-Bataineh, A. T., Brenwall, L., Stalter, K., & York, J. (2019). Student growth through goal setting. International Journal of Learning and Teaching, 11(4), 147-161. https://doi.org/10.18844/ijlt.v11i4.4329
- Martins van Jaarsveld, G., Wong, J., Baars, M., Specht, M., & Paas, F. (2025). Goal setting in higher education: How, why, and when are students prompted to set goals? A systematic review. Frontiers in Education, 9. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2024.1511605
- Saks, K. (2024). The effect of self-efficacy and self-set grade goals on academic outcomes. Frontiers in Psychology, 15. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1324007
- Tang, X., & Guo, J. (2019). Putting the goal back into grit: Academic goal commitment, grit and academic achievement. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/scnda
