A new building, a new floor, a new set of friends: things we all must face when moving up in school, whether it be elementary school to middle school or middle school to high school. I am sorry to say, but Olaf was incorrect in his statement, “when you're older, absolutely everything makes sense.” No one ever said growing up was easy and that all your problems would disappear; however, most forget it does not have to be something to dread. Rather, it can be something to enjoy.
There is a common misconception that when we reach middle school or high school, our reputation should automatically become “top of the class,” “Mr. Popular” and everyone's best friend all within the first week of school. While a good seat at lunch and 10 friends would be nice, this simply is not a healthy goal for yourself, especially if trying to attain these things causes stress. I am not saying that setting goals and having expectations is bad; what I am saying is that we need to know how to accurately pick feasible goals.
When we first get into middle school or high school, we tend to immediately compare ourselves to those around us: mainly the upperclassmen. The upperclassmen are every student's dream and, if I may, “idol.” In middle school, everyone is looking up to the eighth graders. In eighth grade, everyone is looking up to the high schoolers. Freshmen and sophomores look up to the juniors and seniors. I could go on, but let me warn you that no matter how old you are, you will always strive to be the upperclassmen. The meaning of “upperclassmen” simply changes as you get older.
Planning for your life is a natural part of growing up, and setting your eyes on the future can be helpful. But when we obsess over the little things, such as popularity, being the teacher’s favorite or being the perfect at whatever sport or club you are involved in, we lose sight of the reason for goals.
According to Oxford Languages, a goal is defined as “the object of a person's ambition or effort; an aim or desired result.” As teenagers, we tend to look at this definition and replace God’s purpose with a bunch of worldly standards, ultimately setting ourselves up for failure.
We need to take a step back and look at this term with a different perspective. Let me provide an example. What if I told you that you can set a goal for yourself to get good grades? Look at that again. I did not say get all A’s; I said simply get good grades. This is a much more reasonable goal for a student. Setting a goal that at its root says “do your best,” is the leading goal you should make for yourself. Doing your best glorifies God and your parents, and let's be honest, you are going to be less stressed and more successful. If you end up getting all A’s, good job! Celebrate your accomplishments! Do not be hard on yourself because you did not achieve your goals according to your original standards or within your time frame; what matters is that you did your best for God’s glory.
Setting goals that push you to do your best, while still respecting yourself, are the types of goals I wish I had made for myself going into middle school and high school. Our goals and dreams should reflect our desire to simply do our best, not for ourselves, but for God.
Comments