How to Get What You Want For Girls

How to Get What You Want For Girls, Zanna Anne Jezek, CreateSpace, 2010

This short book, written by a teen for teens, shows how to get more out of life by setting and achieving goals.

The goal could be something small, like earning enough money to buy a new mp3 player. The goal could be something bigger, like spending more time with your family, or improving your academic performance in your worst subject in school. It needs to be specific; vague goals like "I want to get healthy" or "I want to win the lottery" are not acceptable. It needs to have a time limit attached to it. It is totally OK to break a large goal into smaller, more manageable pieces. Write your goal on a piece of paper, and post it somewhere that you can see it every day. Putting it on paper is more permanent than leaving it in the back of your mind.

When you write your goal on paper, put it in terms of what you want, and not what you don't want. For instance, if your goal is to lose 20 pounds before the start of summer vacation, write "I want to lose 20 pounds before the start of summer vacation so that I can feel better about myself, and so that I can look hot at the beach." Don't write "I want to lose 20 pounds before the start of summer vacation because I don't want to be overweight anymore."

There will be days when you don't want to do anything toward your goal; you might have to dig deep to find the discipline and motivation to keep going. Consider doing just one goal-oriented thing per day. After a couple of weeks, you will be that much closer to your goal. When you reach it, be sure to celebrate, then start looking for your next goal.

This book is short, very easy to read, and goes step-by-step through the whole process of setting goals. My only criticism is that it needs a trip, or another trip, to a proofreader or copy-editor. Get past that, and this book is well worth reading, for teens and adults.