5 Things

Awhile back, my 16-year-old Grandson, Alex, lost one of his skis on a deep snowy slope and after looking as thoroughly as he could, came back home from the ski resort without it.  I’m lucky he lives next door, but so is he because he finds it handy to come over and ask me if I would help him pay for a new set of skis.

So now seemed like a good time to help him develop goals and the kind of organization he would need to “make it” in this world. To say the least, he was not well organized or goal-driven in his life and sometimes drove his parents nuts. But he usually listened to me.

So, after giving it some thought for a day or two, I gave him this simple list on a document titled “5 things.”  Alex complied with my instructions and provided me with his lists. We met often after that and went over some of the pleasantly surprising and honest assessments and goals he set for himself. After a few weeks, his parents, who hadn’t seen the list, asked me what I had said to him.  I shared the list and results with them. They said he was treating his sister much better, cleaning his messy room often, not complaining about his “chores” anymore and seemed to be a much happier person.  Later my daughter came to me and asked for a copy of the list as some of her friends who were parents of Alex’s friends were asking her for a copy. They were noticing the difference in him as well.

Here are the “5 things:”

5 things

5 things I should be doing better

5 things I will do to improve starting now

5 goals in will accomplish in the next 5 years

Do this for yourself and give me a copy. It must be written and printed out and also saved on your computer and somewhere on your phone. Show me where it is saved and how you will access it.

Review it at least once every 5 days for the next month

On Christmas, tell me what progress you have made and how that is affecting you.

If you do this now, I will help you finance your new skis and bindings. I get the old pair if the other one ever shows up so I can sell them.

We will not get a very expensive new set…we can’t afford it. You need to find them and we can go over why we are choosing them. The final decision on which skis you get shall be a mutual one between you and me.

Alex got his skis. His story continues but that is for another time. I just wish someone had given me this list at that age and I hope you can find a use for it.