by Sandi Schwartz
E
very parent wishes their children’s
dreams will all come true. Pursuing
meaningful goals that reflect our purpose
plays an important role in developing and maintaining
a happy life. Ultimately, achieving our dreams makes us
happier emotionally and more satisfied with our lives. Positive
psychology researchers have discovered that people who have a
clear purpose in life experience less pain and anxiety. Feeling good
about the future is important for our emotional well-being, and having
a purpose gives us direction and something to look forward to. Without goals and a purpose, we just go through the
motions of life and can start to feel numb and depressed.
Each goal we set and achieve on the path to reaching our purpose takes us one step closer to true happiness and
success in our lives. According to Psychology Today, progress on our goals makes us feel happier and more satisfied
with life. In turn, positive emotions then make us more motivated to keep wanting to achieve even more. Goals
give us a sense of accomplishment and are how we turn our dreams into reality.
Our job as parents is to pass along this knowledge to our children so they can discover their own purpose in life and
make choices based on what will make them happy and satisfied. A recent study published in the journal Psychological
Science looked at whether the positive health effects of having a purpose in life also applied to young adults. The
researchers found that having a strong purpose can be as important to young adults as it is to older people. This
means that finding one’s direction in life should be done as early as possible. We can
give our children tools so they can start crafting their purpose, even at a young age.
Set SMART Goals
If we are not careful about how we set our goals, we can lose our balance. According to Action for Happiness,
“Happiness doesn’t just happen–it comes from thinking, planning, and pursuing things that are important to us.”
The types of goals we want to guide our children in setting should be interesting and engaging to them, give them a
sense of meaning and purpose, and bring a sense of accomplishment when they achieve them. This will help build
confidence for future endeavors.
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