Setting goals and aiming higher

With the new year, it is common for individuals to set New Year’s Resolutions in order to gain a new skill, live a healthier lifestyle, stop a bad habit, etc. According to the U.S. News & World Report, 80% of New Year’s resolutions fail. However, goal setting is an important life skill that is taught through the 4-H program. We encourage 4-H members to set goals for the project(s) they are in, 4-H experiences they apply for and participate in, and all facets of life outside of 4-H. The educational experiences that youth have through the 4-H program helps them gain a better understanding of setting SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, timely) goals and learning what steps need to be taken to achieve a goal.

At the Junior Leader meeting in January, part of the officer team led members in identifying a word that that they would like to focus on in 2022. This word represents an area of their life that they would like to improve in. To keep this inspirational word at the forefront of their minds when life gets busy, they creatively displayed their word on a canvas that they can hang in their room or locker.

As members of the Junior Leader program, this exceptional group of 4-H members are already interested in enhancing their leadership, communication, and teamwork skills. However, despite having a common interest of enhancing their leadership skills and being a part of Junior Leaders, each 4-H member picked a unique word that resonated with them and then used their creativity to make their word even more personal.

As we are well on our way into the new year, I would encourage you to talk with youth that you know about setting a goal to enroll in 4-H. This program helps youth enhance life skills through fun, hands-on learning experiences. 4-H enrollment is open and we would love to have more youth join! To enroll in the Montgomery County 4-H program, visit https://v2.4honline.com or visit the Montgomery County Extension office at 400 Parke Avenue, Crawfordsville, IN 47933. The program fee for enrolling in 4-H is $15 per child and mini 4-H (grades K-2) is free. If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact Abby Morgan at the Extension office at (765)364-6363 or e-mail [email protected].