ABSTRACT
Goal setting is the most important life skill for an adolescent. Yet only three per cent of students in the USA ever receive training in goal setting skills. Goal setting impacts upon the following components of mental toughness and resilience: life control; commitment—clearly this is where goal setting is the heart of the matter; challenge and confidence in abilities. Many goals are big goals and some may appear to be big but they may not be. If we are not careful the goal can appear overwhelming to a young person. The key to achieving big goals is to break the task down into smaller relevant tasks which when completed are clear steps towards the achievement of the big goal. Most of the research into goal setting has been focused on how to maximise the technique. Much less attention has been paid to the underpinning psychology.
