Why is it Important?
While it’s great to live in the moment, surviving on a day-to-day basis can leave you feeling unfulfilled and easily stressed. Setting long-term goals can help you focus on your future and build the life you want for yourself.
Yes, you’d do well to have both short and long-term goals in place. But, finding a balance between both types of goals allows you to live your life in a more fulfilling and focused manner. To know what you’re working for in the present verses where you’re aiming to go in the future is one of the first steps to a life filled with purpose. Think of short-term goals as mile markers to help get you to your long-term goals (i.e. the finish line)!
What to Focus on When Setting Goals
- Your Focus: Focus on your focus! It sounds weird, but taking extra care to stay focused on your goals is how they will get done. Focus on your dedication, your drive, and remember why you started. When you start to question what you’re doing, remind yourself with a post-it set in a highly trafficked spot or a with a glass dry erase desktop accessory.
- Your Benefits: Figure out what benefits you will reap from the hard work you’ll have to put into reaching your objectives. Give yourself little rewards along the way if you need to, but never stop pursuing the things that you want. The benefits that come with completing your goals extend far beyond whatever it was you were trying to achieve. You’ll feel more motivated, accomplished, and a sense of ease when you make in to the end of your long-term goal journey.
- Your Results: It’s Important to remember that with long-term goals, the results tend to come much later from when you put in all of the work. There isn’t any instant gratification to lean on when things get hard. Don’t let that be the thing that stops you, though! See it through! You can do it!
- Your Purpose: Long-term goals are representative your purpose in life. What you’re here to do and what will make you feel whole can all be determined by what kind of objectives you set. The things you choose to focus on get supported by the objectives you set as a priority in your life.
Extras!
When setting up your long-term goals, it can be helpful to think about your good and bad habits! For more on how to work on the self-mastery of good and bad habits, check out our previous blog post, “Good vs Bad Habits: The Power of Self-Mastery.”