Opportunity For Students To Kick Start Their Dreams

Chart A Path -  “A dream doesn't become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination, and hard work.” Colin Powell’s words have never been more true. To get your passion project started, you'll need to stop dreaming. Break out of the abstract, and instead, break it down.

Set (And Keep) Deadlines -  It’s important to not only have realistic goals, but to set realistic deadlines for hitting them. Having a due date in place, like a school assignment, will help you manage your time in a way that “It’ll be done when it’s done” never could. Something I like to do is set up a reward system to motivate myself - a gift or a unique experience for myself when I hit my deadline gives me something to work for when the dream still seems too far away to motivate me.

You Can’t Do It Alone -  To quote Michael Jordan, “Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships." It’s not enough to be good or to be firing on all cylinders. You need a support network of people to help you and keep you accountable for what lies ahead.

Embrace Failure -  A dream is a big, messy thing, and your path towards at will be fraught with challenges and surprises along the way. Things won't work out as you think they will, and not everyone will understand what you’re going for, and you won’t do everything perfectly, whether it's your first, second, or even the last attempt. Instead, embrace failure as an equal part of the process.

Be Ready To Move Forward -  As Jim Carrey once said, “It is better to risk starving to death than surrender. If you give up on your dreams, what's left?” Not every step will make you want to take another. Dreams often stay dreams because making them a reality is difficult and often painful.

Set stretch goals: -  As a way to challenge her students to set and exceed their own expectations, Beachboard carves out time each week for them to set or revise goals for themselves that are connected to the curriculum and their own learning. During the course of a lesson, students practice a number of skills and learn new concepts.

Imagine the goal and the hurdles:  The successful pursuit of a goal requires students to avoid indulging in the fantasy of the desired outcome and its benefits, keeping both feet firmly planted on the ground.

Tap Into Dreams: -  At the beginning of each school year, eighth-grade English teacher Cathleen Beachboard schedules a check-in with each one of her students to ask them a series of questions about their interests, goals, and what they feel they excel at. It’s both a get-to-know-you exercise for Beachboard and an intro to teaching her students the complex work of goal-setting.

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