Whether this is your first Girl Scout Cookie Program or your fortieth, we’ve got some tips to help you teach girls about setting goals and how to achieve them!

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Why are Goals Important?

If your girls are young, or this is their first Cookie Program, spend some time exploring what goals are and why they are important. Define goals as a tangible achievement, whether it’s making the softball team, getting good grades in a tough class, or selling 1,000 boxes of cookies.

Activity Idea: Have the girls in your troop think of some goals they accomplished in the past year, big or small. Did she study hard and pass a big test, or grow a garden? Have her list the steps she took, from identifying the goal to achieving the goal.

If this isn’t your troop’s first year selling cookies, discuss the previous year’s goals and what the factors were that led to success or failure. Frame failures as positive learning opportunities rather than negative setbacks—you have to identify a problem before you can solve it!

If You Can Dream It, You Can Do It

Now it’s time to dream big and set some Cookie Program goals! Have the girls discuss their individual sales goals—maybe she’s excited to earn a plush toy, or to attend camp next summer. Then discuss some experiences that the troop could enjoy together using cookie rewards money—include both fun adventures for the girls and meaningful community service projects.

Help your troop brainstorm goals that are challenging while still being realistic (but even dreams that are a little too big for this year might be more realistic when your girls are older!) Take some time to let the girls talk about how their individual cookie goals can contribute to the entire troops’ goals and encourage them to help and support each other’s success.

#CookieSquadGoals

Once your troop has decided what their goals are, they can begin planning how to reach them! Start positive and have them state their goals as if they’ve already achieved them—”We are selling 5,000 boxes of cookies so we can build a community playground”—and imagine how accomplished they’ll feel when they finally reach those goals.

Get your troop excited about what they can achieve, and help them plan out the steps to reach their goal:

1. Decide when and where you will hold booth sales and when girls will work on individual sales. Make a commitment, and schedule Cookie Program time as you would any other extracurricular activity.
2. Help girls identify their social networks and develop ideas for leveraging them.
3. Plan time as a troop to prepare and practice sales pitches and public speaking.
4. Keep track of their progress on a chart to help them stay focused on their goals—and celebrate the milestones along the way!

Now that you know how to use goal-setting to get your girls pumped for the Girl Scout Cookie Program, we want to hear from you! What are some of the goals your troop has set this year?