How to Set Goals for Life

In life, everyone has a dream, which is a vision of themselves in the future. If not, then at least people identify the benefits and values they want to achieve in life. Even so, you should try setting an achievable goal to keep yourself working hard for years. It can be hard to find a starting point at first, what you want to achieve may seem impossible. But, if you prepare well you can set goals for your life that you need to work on to meet that goal.

Table of Contents

Develop Life Goals

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Think about what you want. Many people have only a vague sense of what they want out of life. Your first task is to convert ideas like “happiness” or “well-being” into what you want to do.

Grab a pen and paper and start writing the things that matter to you in life. At this stage, you can write in general terms, but try not to be too vague.
For example, if the first thing that comes to your mind is “happiness,” that’s fine. You should try defining that phrase. What does “happiness” mean to you? What is a happy life? ^{[1] X Research Resources Morisano, D., Hirsh, JB, Peterson, JB, Pihl, RO, & Shore, BM (2010). Setting, elaborating, and reflecting on personal goals improving academic performance. Journal of Applied Psychpogy, 95(2), 255.)}

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Write about yourself. A good way to start from general to specific is to write freely about yourself. This can help you determine what is most important to you. ^{[2] X Research Resources Morisano, D., Hirsh, JB, Peterson, JB, Pihl, RO, & Shore, BM (2010). Setting, elaborating, and reflecting on personal goals improving academic performance. Journal of Applied Psychpogy, 95(2), 255.)}

Try writing about how you spend your time. Start brainstorming by writing down something you love to do and get excited about. ^{[3] X Research Sources}
Don’t limit yourself to beneficial or “worth doing” activities or experiences. The purpose of brainstorming is to generate as many ideas as possible, this list will come in handy later on.
Write about something you’re interested in or want to learn more about. Do you like science? Literature? Or music? Is this something you want to pursue for the rest of your life?
Write what you want to change about yourself. Are you hoping to develop your public speaking skills? Or want to be a writer? Photographer? Is this something you want to pursue for the rest of your life?

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Imagine your future. Think about the ideal future. How is it? Ask yourself questions that help you frame things in more detail. ^{[4] X Research Source} For example, imagine you are trying to decide on a long-term career. You can ask the following questions:

What time do you want to wake up in the morning?
Where do you want to live? Urban or rural? Or abroad?
Who will be there when you wake up? Is family important to you? If the answer is yes, then a job that requires frequent travel is not the right choice.
How much money do you want to earn?
The answers to these questions may not be enough to define your dream job, but they will help you define more.

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Set specific goals. After thinking, you should have a few ideas in mind that you want to implement in your life. Actually, you already have some ideas! This is your time to materialize them. ^{[5] X Research Resources Austin, JT, & Vancouver, JB (1996). Goal constructs in mentalpogy: Structure, process, and content. Psychpogical Bulletin, 120, 338 –375.}

For example, at this stage you want to be a scientist. This is a good start. But now, think about what you want to research? Want to be a chemist? Physicist? Or astronomer?
You should be as specific as possible. Imagining that you decide to become a chemist might be the right path. Now, ask yourself what kind of work you want in that field. You want to work for a private company, develop new products? Or do you want to teach chemistry at university?

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Think reasons. You now have some powerful goals for life. Examine each idea and ask yourself, “Why would I want to do this?” The answer might make you reconsider your goals. ^{[6] X Research Source Brunstein, JC (1993). Personal goals and subjective well-being: A longitudinal study. Journal of Personality and Social Psychpogy, 65, 1061–1070.}

For example, you decide to include the goal of “becoming a surgeon” on your list. You ask yourself why, and give the answer that surgeons make a lot of money and are respected by many. These are valid reasons. But if this is the only reason, you may want to consider another career that also offers these benefits. Becoming a surgeon requires complex training. Irregular working hours. If these are not appealing, you can consider another goal that will still earn you money and respect.

Make an Implementation Plan

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Rank goals. At this stage, you have a few (many) goals in life, it’s time to seriously plan to achieve them. The first step is to prioritize which goals first.

Deciding which goals are most important can help you identify the one you want to work on first.
You need to start cutting down on goals on your list. Some goals cannot be accomplished together. For example, you can’t be a famous doctor, astronomer, and rap artist at the same time. You need to spend a lifetime working towards each of these goals. So combining the three goals together seems impossible.
Other goals may work well together. For example, if you want to be a brewer and open a restaurant, you can combine them to create a new goal: open a beer bar.
Part of the ranking process is assessing commitment to each goal. You can’t hit a long-term goal as soon as you commit to it, especially when there are more important goals on your list. ^{[7] X Research Sources Koestner, R., Lekes, N., Powers, TA, & Chicoine, E. (2002). Attaining personal goals: Self-concordance plus implementation intentions equals success. Journal of Personality and Social Psychpogy, 83, 231–244.}

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Do research. Once you’ve narrowed your field to a single goal or combination of tasks, it’s a good idea to take the time to learn how to accomplish them. ^{[8] X Research Sources} You can ask the following questions:

What skills do you need to learn?
What level of education is needed?
What resources do you need?
How long will the process take?

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Create sub-goals. Achieving life goals is a long and complex process. Depending on the amount of time, in the next step, you will break the goal into smaller parts.

Creating sub-goals helps you stay in control of the process and plan each step to reach your ultimate goal. ^{[9] X Research Source}
Make your sub-goals as tangible and measurable as possible. In other words, you need to clearly define each sub-goal so that it’s easy to determine when you’ve accomplished it. ^{[10] X Research Source}
For example, if your goal is to open a restaurant, a secondary goal might be to save a specific amount of money, find a location, design an interior, furnish it, buy insurance, get a permit, hiring staff, and finally opening.
When you’re working on a long-term goal, you may feel like you’re getting nowhere. But with a clear and manageable subgoal list, it’s easy to gauge progress. This helps to reduce the attitude of wanting to give up.

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Create a timeline. After planning each step towards your goal, set a deadline. Think about how long each sub-goal will take and create a timeline for achieving them.

Deadlines keep you motivated because it creates a sense of urgency. It also helps you achieve your goals at a specific time, rather than letting them drop down your priority list. ^{[11] X Research Source}
For the example of a restaurant, if you want to save 2 billion in 3 years, you can split it into 5 million per month. Doing this helps you remember to put out a fixed amount each month, instead of spending them on something else.

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Make a plan when you run into problems. Finally, try to imagine things that interfere with your plans. Thinking in advance about obstacles you may face helps you develop ideas for dealing with them, if real. ^{[12] X Research Source}

For example, imagine you decide to become a chemist. You are applying for a master’s program at a top chemistry school. What if you are not accepted? Did you apply elsewhere? If yes, you need to apply before knowing the results of the first school. Or you think it’s better to wait until next year and apply again. If so, what will you do in that year to make your resume “prettier”.

Working Towards Goals

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Create the right environment. Whatever your goal is, there is always a better environment to achieve it. Do all you can to make sure people and surroundings don’t create obstacles. ^{[13] X Research Source}

For example, if you study medicine, you have to study longer and focus on your work. If you live with someone who throws parties all the time, you’ll be lazy, so you should consider moving out.
Surrounding yourself with people with purpose can help you stay responsible and motivated.

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Work. Choose a date to start working on the first sub-goal on the list. Then proceed!

If you’re not sure how to accomplish your first sub-goal, it’s probably too complicated to set as your first goal. You can’t pinpoint the first step towards a goal, you need to delve deeper and break it down into smaller goals.
Set the start date at least a few days in the future. If this is a goal that excites you, the prediction will keep you motivated and enthusiastic from the very beginning. ^{[14] X Research Source}
You can use the downtime before the day starts to adjust your plan, get advice, or buy whatever tools you need to achieve your goals.

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Make your goals consistent. Once started, the key to achieving life goals is consistent and consistent execution. This step-by-step process will take a long time. This is so important that you have to keep making progress.

Many people set goals and start with great enthusiasm, putting a lot of time and energy into the goal from the very beginning. Enthusiasm is good but try not to burn yourself out in the first few weeks/months. You also don’t want to set a standard that you can’t keep up with for a long time. Remember this is a long road. This is a journey, not a race. ^{[15] X Trusted Source American Psychpogical Association Go to Source}
The best way to ensure progress is to create a daily goal schedule. ^{[16] X Research Resources} For example, if you are studying to be a chemist, schedule a specific time each day to do your homework, say 3-7 pm. Schedule a specific daily to develop your own research, say from 7:30 to 9 pm. Try to always be on time, unless there’s something urgent that makes it impossible for you to do so. After 9pm, rest, relax.
Always keep in mind that achieving any goal takes time and effort. Time and sweat are how we achieve our goals. ^{[17] X Research Source}

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Always motivated. Because consistency is so important, you need to be motivated.

Potentially achievable sub-goals are extremely important to your motivation. It’s easier to stay motivated and committed if you feel progress. ^{[18] X Research Sources Duckworth, AL, Peterson, C., Matthews, MD, & Kelly, DR (2007). Grit: perseverance and passion for long-term goals. Journal of personality and social psychology, 92(6), 1087.}
Use reinforcement for motivation. Positive reinforcement is about adding good things to your life. Negative reinforcement is about getting rid of the unwanted. Both keep you motivated. If you’re trying to concentrate on filling out a restaurant license application and find yourself distracted, reward yourself with something. Maybe after completing the application, you can give yourself a massage. You can be happier if you don’t have to do housework. Either way, reinforcement will keep you motivated. ^{[19] X Research Source}
Punishing yourself for not achieving a secondary goal is not as effective as reinforcing good behavior. If you choose to punish yourself, remember to use rewards. ^{[20] X Research Source}

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Monitor progress. One of the best ways to stay motivated is to track progress and check in regularly. Depending on your personal goals and preferences, you can use apps, a diary, or a calendar.

Either way reminds you of the achieved goals. They help you hold yourself accountable for staying on schedule. ^{[21] X Trusted Source Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development Go to source}
Regular journaling can reduce stress and anxiety during the long-term pursuit of a goal. ^{[22] X Research Source}

Advice

Goals often change with life experience. You need to think about your goals on a regular basis, instead of blindly following the path you chose years ago. You can totally rethink.

Warning

Avoid creating “negative” goals, focusing only on things you don’t like instead of things that excite you. ^{[23] X Research Source} For example, “stay away from bad relationships” is not as effective as the goal of “finding a meaningful relationship”.

Steps

Develop Life Goals

Make an Implementation Plan

Working Towards Goals

Advice

Warning

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