The other day I was driving my 8yr old daughter to school, like I do every day, and we got into a conversation about goals for 2014. She quickly began to teach me a leadership lesson about goal setting that I thought I’d pass along to you. She explained to me that there are 3 kinds of goals:

1. “Soccer”

You know, like when you score a goal in a soccer game. Yep, got it. Keeping score is a good thing when you’re setting goals.

2. “Animals”

This one took me a bit longer to understand, and she actually got frustrated with me because I was a little slow on the uptake. But what she was saying was “gulls.” Like Sea Gulls. The thought process of an 8yr old, cute.

3. “When you Reach for Something”

Finally she said that a goal is something you have to reach for, and you can’t mark it off your list until you keep doing it. In other words it involves 3 things:

1. Consistency: Just because you change a behavior one time or achieve something once, doesn’t mean you’ve mastered it or arrived. You’re looking for a consistent change in behavior.

2. Accountability: A list is a great way to build accountability. If it isn’t written down it doesn’t exist. You’ve got to have a solid concrete target to shoot for.

3. Reach: Whatever goals you set in 2014 they should push you to reach for something on the top shelf. It shouldn’t be easy and the sheer movement towards that goal should cause personal growth.

Smart little lady huh? I should let my kids write all my blog posts!