The new year brings about one's desire to change and to improve one's self. These emotions quickly fade and turn into lofty resolutions that are not fulfilled. For parents of gifted children, many parallels can be made between making New Year's resolutions and setting more long-term goals related to their education and/or career. The issue may lay within the way New Year's resolutions and children's life goals are conceived in the first place. For many gifted students, almost any subject is one of fascination, but this does not mean that just because a child is enthralled with Shark Week that the family should move to the coast, schedule scuba diving lessons, and begin praying that the child will not be Jaws' cousin's next meal. This article describes the use of the "SMART" system for helping a child set goals. In order to be achieved, the best goals are: (1) S, Simply-written and Specific; (2) M, Meaningful; (3) A, Achievable and Action-oriented; (4) R Realistic and Reviewable; and (5) T, Time-sensitive. Additional resources are provided.