Stake FSY Activity: Goal Setting Activities

Setting goals is an important part of youth having a meaningful experience both at FSY and throughout their lives. By setting goals, youth will be better prepared to make wise choices, accomplish good, and reach their full potential and eternal destination. As you invite youth to participate in this activity, help youth understand how setting goals can help them better focus on and draw closer to Jesus Christ.

See Teaching in the Savior’s Way for more guidelines.

Some ideas for setting effective goals include:

  • Set goals in more than one area (e.g. spiritual, social, physical, intellectual)
  • Include specific steps or actions to obtain the goal
  • Divide them into daily, short-range, intermediate, and long-range goals
  • Be realistic
See the Personal Development: Youth Guidebook for more details and additional guidelines.

Pre-FSY Activity: Goal Setting

One of the best ways to help youth have a positive FSY experience is to help them set meaningful goals to prepare for FSY. The purpose of this activity is to give youth time to reflect and set personal goals. This can include goals that help the youth grow individually (e.g. attending the temple) as well as goals to be accomplished at FSY (e.g. learn everyone in their company’s names).

*Please include adequate time for youth to ponder and write down their goals.

Some ideas for this activity include:

  • Discuss the importance and benefits of goal setting
  • Pose questions that encourage reflection
    • Recommendations
      • Ask the questions in large or small group discussion
      • Provide the youth with a worksheet and let them journal individually (e.g. Setting Goals Worksheet)
    • Sample questions
      • What do I feel I should learn or change in my life?
      • What talents or skills do I want to gain?
      • What spiritual habits do I need to develop or improve?
      • How can I keep the covenant I made when I was baptized?
      • Who can I serve?
      • What goals can I set using my answers to the above questions?
  • Encourage the youth to set goals that are meaningful to them personally
  • Encourage the youth to seek the guidance of the Holy Ghost in setting goals
  • Reflect on scriptures related to goal setting
    • For example, Luke 2:52: “And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.”
  • Hold a discussion in small groups (10–20 youth)
    • These discussions can help youth spark new ideas as they hear what other youth have done or plan to do
    • Consider inviting YSA or older youth to facilitate or lead the discussion

Sample Schedule

  1. Option 1 (15 minutes)
    • Discussion on the importance of goal setting (5–10 minutes)
    • Personal journaling and goal setting (5–10 minutes)
  2. Option 2 (30–45 minutes)
    • Group discussion on importance of goal setting (10–15 minutes)
    • Brainstorm goals (5 minutes)
    • Personal journaling and goal evaluation (10–15 minutes)
    • Group discussion sharing goals (5–10 minutes)

Post-FSY Activity: Goal Evaluation

One of the main focuses of FSY is to help youth “take it home.” We want the things they learned and experienced to impact and inform how they choose to live. Part of that is the youth reflecting on and setting goals to continue to grow. As part of their FSY experience, the youth were given multiple opportunities to set goals related to FSY and other personal priorities. The purpose of this activity is for youth to evaluate their goals that they set before or during FSY and adjust or set new goals as needed.

*Please include adequate time for youth to ponder and write down their goals.

Some ideas for this activity include:

  • Invite youth to prepare for the activity by bringing a written copy of their goals (e.g. their FSY handbooks, a journal)
  • Discuss the importance and benefits of following up and evaluating your goals
  • Pose questions that encourage reflection
    • Recommendations
      • Ask the questions in large or small group discussion
      • Provide the youth with a worksheet and let them journal individually (e.g. Evaluating Goals Worksheet)
    • Sample questions
      • What has worked? Why?
      • What has not worked? Why not?
      • What else can I try?
      • Where could I get more ideas?
      • Can I break my goal up into smaller steps or actions?
      • How can I learn from setbacks?
      • What new goals can I set or what old goals can I refocus on using my answers to the above questions?
  • Reflect on scriptures related to goal setting
    • For example, Articles of Faith 1:13: “We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul—We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.”
  • Hold a discussion in small groups (10–20 youth)
    • These discussions can help youth spark new ideas as they hear what other youth have done or plan to do
    • Consider inviting YSA or older youth to facilitate or lead the discussion

Sample Schedule:

  1. Option 1 (15 minutes)
    • Group discussion reviewing goals (5–10 minutes)
    • Evaluate existing goals and set new ones (5–10 minutes)
  2. Option 2 (30–45 minutes)
    • Group discussion on importance of goal evaluation (5–10 minutes)
    • Review goal progress in small groups (5 minutes)
    • Evaluate existing goals and set new ones (10–15 minutes)
    • Group discussion sharing goals and plans (5–10 minutes)

Resources