By Jill Hope
The past few weeks we’ve been talking about the important keys to helping your kids achieve what they want in their lives; their goals and dreams. These keys include:
– Having a clear vision of their desire and knowing why they want it.
– Striving for what they want, not just what they (or you) think they can get.
– Being in the “feeling state” of having the goal, and practicing this feeling often.
– Finding and seizing opportunities to help your children reach their goals
This week we are going to look at the final key to helping your kids achieve what they want in their lives:
Helping your child to understand the importance of positive thinking and persistence when trying to achieve their goals.
One of the factors that all successful people agree with is the following:
No matter what the goal, if you believe in it
and have a strong desire to achieve it,
you will succeed as long as you
continue to persist in the pursuit of the goal.
In fact, one of my mentors maintains that as long as you are getting a result, any result (even undesirable results), you are a success as long as you are doing something in pursuit of your goal.
Kids these days often expect immediate gratification. If they try and fail, even once, that is often enough to make them stop, question themselves, think they can’t do it, think they are no good, etc.
All of the most successful people in our history failed not once, but many, many times in pursuit of their goal. Because, you truly will not fail if you continue moving forward, and do not allow a temporary defeat to stop you.
Here are two examples of famously successful people who failed before achieving their true level of success:
1) Baseball player Babe Ruth is known for his home run record (714 during his career), but for decades he held the record for strikeouts (1330 in all). When asked about this he simply said, “Every strike brings me closer to the next home run.”
2) Comedian Jerry Seinfeld froze the first time he went on stage in front of an audience and was eventually jeered and booed off the stage. Despite the embarrassment and seeming failure, Seinfeld said that he knew he could do it. So he went back the next night and completed his set to laughter and applause.
Had these people not had the confidence and will to persist in pursuit of their dreams despite these early failures, the world would not have been blessed with the fruits of their true potential.
It is up to us as parents to encourage our kids to get up, dust themselves off, and remind them to keep going, especially when the going gets tough.
No successful person ever got there by quitting – never! Sometimes the goal needs to be modified, especially if the desire subsides, as it can over time. However, in general, the continuous pursuit of the goal, regardless of results, is what leads a person to success and ability to live up to their full potential.
Consider ways that you can encourage persistence and a positive attitude in your child as they pursue their goals. It is through our support and encouragement that our kids can increase their confidence and continue to drive forward to achieve their goals.
What do you think about this 5 step goal achievement process? Have you used other tips and strategies to help your children achieve their goals? Please share your thoughts here!
