As one of the mentors in the Peer Success Program at FCI-Aliceville, we try to educate the women around us how to take control of their lives and prepare themselves for a better future. A future that they create with all their hard work and dedication, persistence and resiliency in the face of obstacles. Many times we rely on Mr. Santos and his books to assist us in these endeavors. And one of the things Mr. Santos talks about constantly are goals. He has even broken it down in to simple steps to help people understand how to set and maintain their goals. Now, the Peer Success Program, specifically the group in C4, is working toward having a 3 part workshop for Goal Setting. We are preparing paperwork that educates people about SMART goals and how to set them. There is a 30 day goal setting challenge that may be incorporated within the brief curriculum and the final workshop will revolve around creating individual vision boards. I am working with mentor Reyes to bring this workshop to fruition and it is fun to create a short curriculum, plan for the events and brainstorm ideas on how to make the most of our limited time.
I also think it’s very important for us to discuss what happens when we don’t follow through or something happens and we cannot follow through. For example, if someone’s goal is to lose weight, first we turn it into a SMART goal with specific amounts and time parameters – lose 2 lbs per week for 6 weeks. Then, we’ll discuss what happens if one week that goal is not met, for whatever reason. It is just as important to talk about failure and how to remain steadfast in the face of disappointment as it is to teach them how to create the goals in the first place. So we will have a workshop just for this topic so that the women in our unit know how to acknowledge their failure but remain dedicated to their goals. They just have to wake up the next morning, still with strong intentions, and then follow through as if the previous milestone was met instead of trashing their goals as if they never existed.
I enjoy working with all the mentors because it gives us a chance to increase our abilities to reach the women and each one of the mentors in my unit possess unique gifts. One of Ms. Reyes’s special gifts is her ability to see the beauty and strength in everyone. Working with her has also allowed me to see that, in spite of personal strife, we can communicate and put differences to the side to become a stronger team. And learn from those differences, learn how to be better team players and respect others’ boundaries. So far, Peer Success has been a fabulous interpersonal learning tool for me and I’m so thankful that we have this program at FCI-Aliceville.
