Set Family Goals Before It's Too Late

Setting goals is a very important part of business. Those who remain content and lax get buried by their competition or by the next big thing. You gotta know your family is the greatest thing to happen to you and your children. Dream big. Set goals. See results.

What type of goals should a family have? Short and long term. Fun and crazy plans. Places you want to see together. Activities you want to do as a family. New things you want to try. Traditions you want to maintain. Snowball fights, singing in the rain and swimming in the lake. Eating healthy, jogging together and entering a triathlon. Getting a miniature poodle or whatever else you can dream of.

First, ask yourself: What experiences do I want my family to have before my children grow up and leave home? You only have a matter of years and they will fly by. Today is the day to start setting goals. Tomorrow is not too early to begin achieving them.

First things first. Fast forward 18 years. You're saying goodbye to your child (the one you gave every last bit of energy to) as they leave for college. In that moment, you think back to their childhood and adolescence. What are your happiest moments? What are your cherished memories? What makes you laugh when you think of your time together?

Now fill those in before they happen. Did you have lots of picnics in the mountains? Or maybe built sand castles at the beach every summer? Did you take the road trip you always talked about? Did you learn as a family to take sugar out of your diet? Or maybe you learned how to make bread from scratch? Did you take up bike riding and enter a century ride? How did you spend your holidays? What traditions did you keep from your childhood? Did you go to the opera, the symphony, the jazz festival? Did you teach your kids about the things that are important to you? Maybe the environment, your favorite philanthropy, acceptance, friendship, love? Did you get the puppy for Christmas? Start at the end and then figure out how you will accomplish those goals.

This would be a great time to call in a “board meeting” and discuss your goals with your entire family. At first they might roll their eyes at the discussion of “family goals,” but once you start talking about all the fun things you are going to experience together and ask for their suggestions, they might just get into it.

Your board meeting may go something like this:

“Taylor, when you're 10 years old, would you rather go to Disneyland or SeaWorld? And Madison, we're going to go camping every year starting next summer when you turn five. Now we need to start exercising as a family. What do you think about walking on the trail by our house or taking up swimming? We want to help with a local charity. What do you kids think about donating some of your toys at Christmas time? In two years when everyone is in school, we're going to get a dog. What type of dog should we get?”

Hold an annual “board meeting” to go over your family goals and make tweaks as needed. Being on the same page is a great way to unite your family. But the best part is what you are teaching your children. You are demonstrating the goal process and they are learning how to make and achieve goals of their own.

Tips on Family Goal Setting:

• Include all family members
• Be positive
• Make your goals attainable
• Set some goals that can be accomplished sooner than later
• Write your goals down
• Review and tweak your plan annually