e’ve been asked about our life goals since we were small children. We’ve always been surrounded by questions like what do you want to be when you grow up, do you want to have children, where’s your dream home, what type of person do you want to marry, etc.
Setting life goals is important; it helps you stay on track, achieve what you want to achieve, and make the most out of your life.
“Learn to light a candle in the darkest moments of someone’s life. Be the light that helps others see; it is what gives life its deepest significance.” ― Roy T. Bennett
Why Do You Need to Set Life Goals
Setting life goals is an important way to stay on track and make the most out of your life. Making a list of your life goals and revisiting it every year, making the proper adjustments, can help you be more focused on what you want in life and become more self-aware.
It forces you to take time each year to sit down and focus on yourself, thinking about what you want in your life, gives you a way to track your progress, and also provides you with a tangible object to hold you accountable (similar to a contract).
“The mystery of human existence lies not in just staying alive, but in finding something to live for.” ― Fyodor Dostoyevsky
How to Set Life Goals
There are a number of ways to go about setting life goals, but there are a few practices that can help you head down the right path. For starters, you should limit your distractions; making a list of your life goals requires you to get fully in touch with your inner self so you can accurately determine what you want in life.
You have to question yourself, being entirely honest with yourself, and examine the things that you want to achieve and accomplish over the course of your lifetime.
It’s crucial that the life goals you choose to set for yourself are reachable. Don’t make a life goal that’s impossible, highly unlikely, or aim for something incredibly rare. For example, rather than making a life goal “write the #1 best seller,” make it something more achievable like “write a book;” if the book ends up being a best-seller, that’s awesome, but your goal was to accomplish an achievable task.
Another example would be setting the goal of being a singer, rather than a famous pop star, topping the charts. Once you’ve completed this self-reflection, it’s a good idea to revisit it ever six months to a year to make sure it still accurately reflects what you want in life.
What Are Some Examples of Life Goals
Most of the time, when people think of life goals they think of career goals or family goals. In reality, life goals are a combination of all those things and then some. Your life goals can be anything that you without a doubt have to accomplish in your life.
This could be to reach a particular place in your job, a particular career, the time frame wherein you’d want to have a baby as well as visiting the Grand Canyon or living in a foreign country for an extended period of time. Whatever you specifically want in life.
“Your days are numbered. Use them to throw open the windows of your soul to the sun. If you do not, the sun will soon set, and you with it.” ― Marcus Aurelius
A goal without a plan is merely a wish.
Setting life goals is a great way to make sure you’re life is staying on the right path, keep you focused on your dreams, and help you to achieve all you want in your lifetime.
The process of determining and setting your life goals can also be a great experience, encouraging time spent in self-reflection. It can help you to become better in-tune with yourself and better aware of your desires and dreams.
You may think it sounds difficult to set your life goals, but if you limit your distractions, stay focused, and listen to yourself, you can do it.
Keep in mind that none of these goals are set in stone; likely what will happen is the list will grow and evolve as you do, changing many times.
“Dare to dream! If you did not have the capability to make your wildest wishes come true, your mind would not have the capacity to conjure such ideas in the first place. There is no limitation on what you can potentially achieve, except for the limitation you choose to impose on your own imagination. What you believe to be possible will always come to pass – to the extent that you deem it possible. It really is as simple as that.” ― Anthon St. Maarten
Some things will get accomplished and some things you’ll lose interest in before you ever get close to crossing it off the list. Keep an open mind and keep up your momentum.
