【推荐1】“Life’s a long, long journey,” so we are told, and most of us would not set off on a journey, even a short one, without some ideas of where we wanted to go. Yet many people travel on life’s journey with no sense of direction at all.

Setting personal goals (目标) can give your life a sense of direction. Goal setting is used by sports players, successful business people and achievers in all fields. Before you set personal goals, think about what you want to achieve with your life.

Try to set goals in some of the following categories (类别):

Education—Will you achieve the educational goals after finishing high school? Are you still growing and learning?

Family—What kind of relationship do you want with your parents and other family members?

Creative—Do you want to achieve any artistic (艺术的) goals?

Career—What job do you want to take when you grow up? What do you need to make your dream come true?

Public Service—Do you want to make the world a better place?

Physical—Are you fit enough to do the things you want to do?

Pleasure—How do you want to enjoy yourself?

Write down the goals and think about them carefully. Are they realistic? When will you be able to achieve them?

To help make the process more manageable, divide your goals into smaller tasks. For example, if you want to reach a main goal in five years, set a three-year goal, a one-year goal, a three-month goal and a one-month goal. Then create a daily To-Do List of things that you should do today. When a goal is achieved, take the time to enjoy your success. This helps you build the self-confidence.

Remember, your goals can be changed as time goes on. But be sure your goals are the things you hope to achieve, not what your parents, family or teachers want.

【推荐2】Before you make friends, you have to decide who you choose to be your friends. Most people like to have friends who like to do the same kinds of thing as they do. Think about your favorite things and try talking to your classmates about your hobbies.

The quickest way to make a friend is to smile (微笑). If you do so, people think you are friendly. At first, it may not be easy to smile. However, remember that nobody likes an angry face.

One easy way to talk with people is to say something nice about them. For example, you could talk about one’s great answer to a teacher’s question, or someone’s beautiful shirt, etc.

Ask your new friends questions about themselves. Who’s their favorite singer? Where do they live? Who are their teachers? What do they do after school? What are their hobbies (爱好)? These are all good questions to start talking.

After making some friends with the same interests, it’s always fun to play or do some other things together. And this is the right way to make your friendship closer.

【推荐3】Everyone worries. Worry is not all bad. But some kids worry too much. If that sounds like you, you can take these three steps.

◆Try to find out what you’re worried about. The worst thing is to do nothing. We should know that worries are normal in life, so don’t run away from them, try to solve them. If you can’t find out what worries you, you can talk to your parents, teachers or another person you trust to get some help.

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There is almost always something you can do to help you feel less worried. For example, grades at school are often a top worry for kids. If that’s your worry, ask yourself these questions:

※Why are grades important? What do they mean to me?

※How do I prepare for class? Do I review (复习) even when there isn’t a test the next day?

※Do I have a good place to do my homework?

※Do I try different ways of studying, such as reading aloud (大声地), using computers, and working with a study friend?

You can also write down all the actions (行动) you could take. Once you have a list of possible actions, you can choose the one you think is the best for yourself.

◆Ask for help.

Worry can make you feel lonely (孤独的). When you’re worried, it can help to find someone to talk to. Talking to someone will help a lot, he or she will think about ways to help you. And it will make you feel better. As an old saying goes, sharing a problem is like cutting it in half. So you are halfway to solving a problem just by asking for help.

【推荐1】What are this month’s activities (活动) in Alan’s school? Look at these.