#RelationshipGoals

Last week I had the pleasure of visiting a school in Arizona to help with an 8th grade Leadership Day. We had nearly 600 students and an unfathomable amount of energy. We split into groups of 25 and I led the sessions on goal setting.

Now, this isn't my first rodeo with leading goal-setting sessions. In fact, I give SMART, BHAG, "Do Hard Things"-ish sessions in my sleep. I know the drill and I know the typical response- especially with middle school students. The goals are similar though not always identical. There's always one that wants to be a doctor, earn good grades, have a big house, live in a cool city, graduate, be a millionaire, be a professional sports athlete, go to college...

In Arizona, the young students did a few goal-setting activities and I spoke to them briefly before we sat down and wrote our goals. After a few minutes of silence, I asked the students if anyone would like to share their goals. The answers I received were surprising. While I did have a few students that wrote the traditional professional and education goals- a large deal of the students had true relationship goals.

One sweet girl excitedly raised her hand and professed that her older sister was pregnant and it was her goal to be the best aunt that she could be to the new babe. She was going to spend time with her new niece, pour words of affirmation into their life, and be a good role model for her expanding family. One way that she specifically wanted to be a good role model addressed the fact that no one in her family had ever graduated from college. She was driven to be the first college graduate as an inspiration to her family so that those after her could walk more confidently into the future- especially her soon to be niece.

Another girl quietly raised her hand and confessed that it was her goal to help her family keep up with the laundry. She had a very big family and the dirty clothes pile could easily get out-of-hand and overwhelming. She had a goal to come up with a plan to help her family lessen the burden of laundry. She was going to be the solution.

A young lad raised his hand and declared with a conviction that his greatest goal in life was to be the father that he didn't have to his future family. He was going to be present for his children, he was going to be an upstanding man of character, he was going to love his wife. With a strong conviction, he was determined to meet this future goal.

Student after student raised their hand and declared that their greatest goals were indeed relationship goals. I asked further questions of how we could prepare and practice to be great at relationships with our friends, family, and in our community. Hour after hour, the students engaged in a great discussion of how they were going to transform their families, communities, and lives - one relationship at a time.

What can we learn from these 13-14-year-old students? There are a lot of different facets of our life in which we create goals. Physical, educational, professional, financial, emotional, and spiritual goals are all fantastic examples of areas in which we can create amazing goals. In Arizona, I was inspired for our next generation of humanity that placed their relationship goals at the forefront of their mind. What are some of your relationship goals?