Looking Ahead

My wife & I are focused on reviewing the end of 2014 and looking ahead to 2015. We both have things that we want to accomplish and areas that we want to grow in. We have also challenged our daughters to think about their ambitions for the next year. We have some thoughts on areas of growth for them, but we want to hear their feedback on what they hope to achieve. Our girls react differently to this concept for several different reasons. Part of their hesitance is based on the hard work it takes to think through potential change. I think fear plays into it in some regard as it causes them to think about growing up and the big changes that are on our family's horizon (with three girls in high school.)

It might be easier as parents to just let this go by without pushing on it, but I think we would be doing them a disservice if we did. While we can't prepare them for everything that they might face, we can teach them the valuable skill of assessing your current status and planning for growth. If they can learn to set some goals and move beyond only day-to-day thinking, they will be set up to mature each year. I can't guarantee that they will always be successful, but hopefully they will recognize the value of planning ahead in their personal lives and setting themselves up to move forward.