To our Advance LA Community,

Happy New Year! We wish you a happy and healthy 2023. Each new year offers an exciting opportunity for a fresh start and new beginnings. No one is ever too old to set another goal or dream a new dream. So, let’s get started!

In this month’s blogpost, we discuss how a New Year is the perfect time to set a goal and to start taking the small steps toward achievement. Goal setting is empowering because it provides a focus and a true sense of accomplishment when the goal is met. Setting a realistic goal is a skill of knowing how to make dreams a reality.

Advance LA’s mission is to help our clients advance to independent adulthood. Our Life Skills Coaches meet with their clients remotely, or in person, to provide support and guidance in areas including academics, executive functioning, time management, organization, social/dating skills, job/internship obtainment and maintenance, and independent living skills.

Please contact us at advancela@thehelpgroup.org for more information.

Wishing you all the best,
Jeri Rochman, JD, MS
Program Coordinator
Advance LA

“Take the first step. You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step” 
– Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

These are truly wise words from Dr. King. The beginning of a new year is a fresh start, the perfect time to set a goal and work toward the wonderful feeling of achieving it. Setting a measurable goal is more likely to lead to success in seeing your hopes, dreams, and plans come to fruition. in addition, setting a goal can trigger a new behavior, and keep you focused on what you want to achieve. And there is the delightful feeling of mastery when you have met your goal.

Our Advance LA Coaches teach their clients to set S.M.A.R.T. goals. A S.M.A.R.T. goal is one that is Specific, Measureable, Attainable, Relevant, and Timely. The reason for setting a S.M.A.R.T. goal is that you can’t manage what you can’t measure and you can’t improve upon something you don’t properly manage.  Our Coaches explain to their clients that goal setting means choosing something that you want to accomplish and how to take the steps to make it happen. A phrase that our Coaches use is, “If it’s to be, it’s up to me.”