UPDATED for the 2022 Trust in the Lord theme! 

Are you excited for a new year filled with new possibilities? There’s always so much focus on goal setting at this time of year and it’s so energizing to feel excited about the opportunities a new year brings. I’m so excited for the new Children and Youth program that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has set up for our children and youth. So ready to start this for the coming year. I believe this program has so much promise to help our children learn and develop and grow into their eternal potential. And really, what can be better than that?!

Anyone else feel that while new programs are always exciting, they also bring with them a degree of overwhelm? New programs tend to do that and while I’m so excited, it can also be challenging to know where to start and what to do.

​Personal revelation is such a key part of the program and I love that! But staring at a blank page, wondering where to start can certainly be overwhelming! I’ve created this list of suggestions as a way to get some ideas flowing and brainstorming started. The most important thing is that our children and youth seek out their own personal revelation on what goals they should work on. As your youth set their goals, hopefully having a list of suggestions can help as a springboard to new ideas. These suggestions can be added to, simplified, or tweaked in any way that best fits them.

Spiritual Goal Setting Ideas

• Read the Book of Mormon each day and write your thoughts and feelings in a scripture journal
• Study recent General Conference talks about a topic you feel you need to improve in
• Daily seek and record personal revelation in a personal revelation journal
• Pray for a missionary experience and then look for opportunities to share the gospel
• Do baptisms for the dead each week / month
• Lead your families FHE or Come, Follow Me for a month and encourage your family to be involved
• Keep a gratitude journal – record 5 things you are grateful for each day and practice showing gratitude to Heavenly Father
• Choose a specific gospel topic and study it in depth
• Learn more about the purpose of the Sacrament and set a plan to more fully appreciate the Sacrament and the Sabbath
• Review each section of the For Strength of Youth booklet. For each topic, find a way you can improve and then implement it in your life
• Attend and be involved in Seminary with a happy attitude
• Choose a favorite apostle that inspires you. Learn about his life and service. Then, read all of his General Conference talks from the beginning until now. Keep a journal to record your insights and favorite quotes

Social Goal Setting Ideas for Children and Youth

• Limit social media to ___ minutes each day.
• Find someone new to eat lunch with
• Do a random act of kindness for someone each day for a month
• Introduce yourself / meet someone new in each of your classes
• Choose a family member that you feel you need to strengthen your relationshipw. Prayerfully ponder ways to strengthen the relationship and then act on what you feel you should do
• Smile at everyone you meet!
• Interview an elderly family member about their life growing up. Write up the information that you learn and add it to Family Search.
• Plan and carry out a service project for someone in your community
• Make cookies or a treat to take to a friend, widow, or someone who needs a pick-me up
• Set up a game night or other wholesome fun event for your friends
• Create a family history slideshow of your ancestors to share with your family. Learn something about each of them as you do
• Index ____ # of names
• Find an organization in your community that blesses lives and volunteer with them

Physical Goal Setting Ideas

• Set a bedtime and stick to it
• Study the Word of Wisdom. Pray about how you can better follow it and set a plan to act on what you feel you should do
• Learn how to budget and set up a savings plan
• Plan, shop for, and cook meals for your family for a week
• Learn about healthy foods and how to cook them
• Learn a new sport or physical activity (basketball, tennis, dance, running, etc.)
• Train for and run a 5k or other race
• Help your family develop an emergency and evacuation plan. Practice it and be sure everyone understands what to do in an emergency
• Eat 5 fruits and vegetables a day, or increase your water intake
• Plant and harvest a garden
• Get outside and be active for ___ hours each day
• Learn self defense
• Plan a hike for your family or youth group
• Learn how to and help do repairs around your home

Intellectual Goal Setting Ideas for Children and Youth

• Think of something that interests you and take a class or learn about it. Some ideas of things you can learn are:
• Painting
• Photography
• A new language
• Cooking
• Graphic design
• Sewing
• Cake decorating
• Camping
• Drama / Acting
• First aid skills
• Dance
• A musical instrument
• Computer programming
•  
• Write a book or story
• Learn about and visit / tour different colleges that interest you
• Create a vision board with your goals and dreams for the future
• Learn about different careers that interest you. Contact people who work in these areas and learn about job requirements, schooling, etc. Choose a couple of different jobs and then find someone to job shadow and experience the career firsthand
• Choose your most difficult class at school and create a plan to do better at it
• Read a book or study about a subject that challenges you

What I love most about this program is that it teaches our children and youth to rely on their own personal revelation. They get to recognize their own talents, their strengths, and where they can improve. They are the ones that get to choose what they will work on and develop. I hope they have so much fun planning and carrying out their ideas.

You can print out this printable to post in a visible area, or add it to your Children and Youth binder!

Get the PRIMARY ideas printable too! 

Need more help with goal setting? I’ve created some Children’s and Youth workbooks to help guide Primary children and Youth through the process of setting and carrying out their goals. These workbooks help them seek out the personal revelation needed, brainstorm ideas, and work through the process of accomplishing the goals they set!

You can get them here:

Children’s and Youth – PRIMARY version

Children’s and Youth – YOUTH version

BUNDLE (both versions) 

Printable study guides are for personal, non commercial use only. Feel free to use them in your teaching, but they are otherwise not to be copied, sold, altered, or reproduced.

The LDS ideas and printables shared here are expressly my own and created by My Upside Down Umbrella. They are not created, provided, approved nor endorsed by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. or The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.