Looking Toward the Future

1. Looking Toward the Future

2. So Many Choices • The challenge of choosing • Sometimes there are so many options it’s hard to pick the best one • Which opportunities will be best? • Sometimes choices have to be made if not all opportunities can be followed through on • Opportunities may be disguised • Some opportunities come disguised as challenges or problems

3. Life is.. • A series of ongoing opportunities, challenges, and problems. How you deal with them depends on your • Outlook on life • Resilience • Ability to set goals and make decisions • Ability to manage your resources • Problem-solving skills

4. Weighing the options • Most choices have consequences. Sometimes you will be able to accurately predict the impact of your choices. Other times, you many find the positive aspects are less rewarding than expected or may even be a negative experience. • While becoming more independent you will always have interdependence with others – your choices will affect the lives of other people too.

5. Knowing Yourself • Your Personality – emotions, social skills, intellectual qualities • Your Values are one of the important parts of your personality. They are the principles or qualities that you find desirable and that guide the way you live. • Values are developed from family, friends and life experiences

6. Common Values • Respect • Honesty • Integrity • Trustworthiness • Courage • Fairness • Caring • Responsibility • Self-discipline

7. Lifelong Learning • Lifelong learning means taking opportunities to keep your skills and knowledge up to date throughout your life • The world and your circumstances are always changing.

8. Building Resilience Resilience is the ability to recover from, or adjust to change or misfortune. With resilience you are better able to handle the unexpected events that may happen to you. • Problem-solving and communication skills • Independence • Flexibility • Hope / Optimism • Family and Social Support • Routines • Health • Spirituality

9. Setting Goals and Making Decisions • Before you can make good choices, you’ll need to know what you want. • The ability to set goals is important. When you can state what result you want, you will be more likely to act in ways that will bring you closer to these goals. • Short-term goals – e.g. What to do tomorrow • Long-term goals – e.g. Finding a satisfying career • Keeping goals in mind will help you see beyond current challenges to future opportunities and benefits.

10. S.M.A.R.T. Goal Setting • Specific • Measurable • Attainable • Realistic • Timely

11. Decision Making Some decisions are routine (e.g. What to wear to school) and some are more complicated. Being able to decide using a logical process can make your choices good ones. Decisions are reflective of one’s short and/or long-term goals and values (e.g. Choosing to study rather than go to a movie with friends – name some goals and values) How do you make decisions? (Write your methods down) What factors influence decision you make? (Write them down)

12. Common Ways to Make Decisions • Agonizing • Avoidance • Compliance • Desire • Destiny • Inspiration • Intention • Procrastination • Security • Spontaneity • Synthesis

13. Factors Influencing Decision Making • Values • Peers • Habits • Feelings (love, anger, frustration etc.) • Family • Risks and consequences • Age

14. Decision Making Process • Identify the decision to be made. • Gather information and Consider all of your alternatives (options to reach that goal). • Study and Evaluate your choices. Recognize the consequences of each alternative. • Make your choice. Choose the best alternative course of action. • Act on your decision. • Evaluate your decision and the process.

15. Managing You • To be successful in living independently you’ll need to take control over who you are and what you have – yourself and your resources. • Managing You • Knowing who you are, including your values • Having a strong sense of personal integrity • Having the best interests of yourself and others in mind • Acting on those things.

16. Managing Your Resources • Human Resources • Time, skills, talents, knowledge, abilities, and energy are all human resources that can be used to reach goals, make decisions and solve problems • Material Resources • Money, possessions • Community Resources • Facilities (schools, hospitals, museums), services (police) • Usually meet the educational, safety, health, and recreational needs of citizens.

17. Your Management Process • Set a goal. • Make a plan to achieve your goal. • Carry out your plan to achieve your goal. • Evaluate what happened in steps 1, 2 and 3 to learn from your experience.

18. Problem Solving • The ability to solve problems will help you uncover and take advantage of life’s opportunities. • Being able to solve your problems effectively is a skill that can be learned. • Being a good problem-solver puts you in charge of what happens in your life.

19. Interrelated Processes • Setting goals, making decisions, managing yourself, and solving problems are interrelated processes. • You need to set goals in order to make effective decisions • Making decisions is involved in both management and problem solving • Sometimes a problem must be solved before a decision can be made

20. Real-Life, Practical Problems • A practical problem is a complicated situation that often includes ethical choices or moral outcomes. • Ethical choices involve making decisions about what is fair, right, just, caring, and best for all people involved. These choices are guided by your ethics – the principles or values that guide your life

21. Practical Problems • Usually complicated • Involve several issues and the way to solve them may not be clear • Involves sorting, analyzing, and evaluating • Unique circumstances • May be more than one acceptable solution • Solutions impact others • Consideration of feelings, values, and needs of others • Require taking action • Need to anticipate and consider the positive and negative consequences for every choice

22. Using R.E.A.S.O.N. to solve problems REASON is a process to move back and forth amoung its parts to uncover the best solution to a problem • Recognize the primary problem • Evaluate information • Analyze alternatives and consequences • Select the best choice (i.e. deciding what’s best) • Outline and take action • Note the results of actions taken (i.e. Evaluate and reflect on your actions)

23. Your future is in your hands! • Can you come up with another slogan with the word “future” as it relates to the concepts we’ve discussed?

24. Goal-Setting Step 1: • Write down 1 (one)short-term goal (e.g. 6 months) using the SMART process • How will you achieve it? • Give some examples? • Write down how you can incorporate your goal into your time management plan • Have it reviewed by the teacher Step 2: • Using the SMART goal template provided, write out a long-term goal (e.g. 5 years from now).

25. Goal Examples Goal: I want to be more fit How? Work out more often Specific: I will go to the gym on Tuesday and Thursday at 4 pm for 1 hour Goal: To achieve 75% this year at school How? Do all my homework and attend classes. Specific: I will not be late for class and will attend every day. I will do 15 minutes of homework every day. I will use my planner to keep track of my assignments, tests, etc.

26. What’s Your Excuse? • I didn’t eat my breakfast because... • I didn’t do my homework because... • I don’t have any time because... • I don’t do my chores at home because... • I am late for class because... • My room is a mess because... • I don’t have any money because... • I missed the bus because...

27. Take Control of your Excuses • Step 1: Catch yourself making the excuse when it happens. Watch for eky words and phrases often used. • Step 2: Reframe the excuse and either state clearly or write down why it is not true. • Step 3: Prescribe a course of action that will eliminate the excuse for good and set you on your way to success.

28. 7 Reasons Why We Don’t Achieve Our Goals • No Action Plan • Lack of Commitment to the Goal • Negative Thinking • Not Rewarding Yourself Along the Way • Trying to Focus on Too Many Goals • Not Preparing Yourself for Success • Fear of Failure

29. Problem-Solving Textwork • Read pages 37 to 49 • Answer the Quiz questions provided and hand in. • Do the Case Study using the REASON template provided.