How to Set Long Term Goals to Achieve Big Things

Every person’s heart has a life plan or, at the very least, a collection of strong desires that shape their aspirations. We all spend time envisioning our future, picturing the intricate details of our dream house, the type of car we’d love to drive, and even how many children we’d have and their names. It’s human nature to imagine and aspire to create the life we’ve always dreamed of.

Although life rarely follows a perfect script, setting long-term goals can serve as a useful compass directing us to our intended destination.

In this article, we will look at the importance of long-term goal setting and how it may help you turn your daydreams into solid ambitions. We may harness the power of our dreams and develop a roadmap to the life we’ve always imagined by being deliberate and smart in our approach.

What Are Long-Term Goals?

Long-term goals are objectives that you create with the intention of accomplishing them in the future, perhaps months or even years down the line. These objectives are critical in molding the course of your life and influencing your decision-making process.

Long-term goals require advance planning, consistent effort, and a long-term commitment. They often pose enormous barriers, but conquering them can result in great personal growth and a sense of accomplishment.

My long-term goal when I started LifeHack was to have it reach millions of readers. When the site was just starting off, my primary focus was on providing good content and progressively building my readership. Over the years, I worked hard to broaden the reach of my blog, form partnerships, and convert my passion project into a successful online resource for productivity enthusiasts.

Fast forward to today, and I have accomplished my long-term goal of reaching millions of readers. My blog has grown into a recognized platform in the productivity field, providing insightful articles, expert interviews, and important tools for a wide range of readers.

Now that I’ve accomplished that, my next long-term goal is to make the blog a go-to resource platform for productivity tools, approaches, and insights. As productivity trends, techniques, and technologies change constantly, achieving this goal will need commitment, strategic planning, and ongoing adaptation.

Long-Term Goals vs Short-Term Goals

Aside from long-term goals, you’ve probably heard of short-term goals and wondered what the distinction is.

Long-term goals and short-term goals are the two basic sorts of objectives that complement each other for effective goal-setting and overall achievement.

As mentioned earlier, long-term goals are ambitious objectives that you strive to achieve over an extended period, often months or years. Short-term goals, on the other hand, are smaller, immediate targets that function as stepping stones to help you achieve your long-term goals.

Short-term goals make long-term goals feel less daunting and more feasible by breaking them down into smaller, manageable actions. They lay up a clear and planned path for you to follow, allowing you to track your progress and stay motivated throughout the journey.

Let’s say you have a long-term goal of running a marathon in the next two years. Although this goal may initially appear overwhelming, you may make the journey more reasonable and doable by breaking it down into smaller, more immediate objectives.

Some short-term objectives you could set include:

• Creating a steady running regimen by committing to running at least three times per week for the next three months.
• Running a local 5K race in the following six months to assess your current fitness level and inspire yourself to keep training.
• Build your endurance and confidence by gradually increasing your weekly miles and completing a half-marathon within the following year.

Setting and attaining these short-term goals lays the groundwork for your long-term goal of running a marathon. Each accomplishment moves you closer to your ultimate goal while also providing opportunity for personal growth and development.

While long-term goals provide direction and purpose, short-term goals provide a more achievable and structured path to those larger goals.

The Perks of Setting Long-Term Goals

By setting lofty goals, you can chart a course to success and reap the benefits of your hard work and dedication. Setting long-term goals has several advantages, including:

Create a Clear Direction to Work With Intention

Long-term objectives provide a sense of direction and purpose, allowing you to focus on what is actually important in your life or profession.

According to research,^[1] goal clarity has a direct impact on overall motivation since it helps you grasp what you want to achieve and why it is important. Working with intention allows you to better direct your energy and resources, allowing you to make considerable progress toward your goals.

Help You Achieve Greater Things

Long-term goals often require time, attention, and significant effort to achieve. They encourage you to go beyond your comfort zone and strive for greater accomplishments.

Studies also show that creating more difficult goals can motivate you to work harder and more creatively,^[2] which results in higher performance levels. This is why setting ambitious long-term goals can help you realize your full potential and accomplish tasks that may have seemed impossible in the past.

Help You Prioritize and Stay Focused

With long-term goals in place, you can better prioritize your activities and responsibilities, ensuring that your efforts are aligned with your objectives. This focus is especially useful in today’s fast-paced, information-overloaded environment, where it is all too easy to become distracted by less significant issues.

How to Set And Reach Your Long-Term Goals

Setting and achieving long-term goals requires a systematic and consistent strategy. Following a planned approach increases your chances of achieving your goals and making your aspirations a reality. Here’re 5 steps on how to set and reach your long-term goals:

1. Visualize Your Ideal Future

Begin by visualizing the life you want to live or the accomplishments you want to achieve. Visualization can help you create a clear picture of your goals and ignite the motivation needed to achieve them.

Be explicit about what you want to achieve and how it will affect your life. Try these 13 Visualization Techniques to Help You Reach Your Goals.

2. Set a SMARTer Goal

When setting a long-term objective, make sure it meets the SMART criteria (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-bound). However, go beyond these criteria and examine why you want to reach this goal.

A better grasp of the goal’s purpose boosts your chances of success since it creates a stronger sense of motivation and dedication to the goal.^[3]

Learn how to set a SMARTer goal in The Ultimate Guide to Goal Achieving & Goal Setting.

3. Break It Down into Short-Term Goals

Break down your long-term goal into smaller, more doable short-term ones. These milestones will act as stepping stones, making the overall journey more manageable and allowing you to efficiently measure your progress.

Breaking down your long-term goals into smaller tasks also helps you stay motivated and focused.

Learn more about how to break down big goals into small ones in How to Set Milestones to Progress Towards Your Goal.

4. Track Your Progress

Monitoring your progress is essential for staying on track and holding yourself accountable. Keep a record of your accomplishments and celebrate your progress along the way.

Using one of these 7 Best Goal Tracking Apps will make it easier to keep track of your progress.

5. Re-evaluate Your Goal and Make Adjustments As Necessary

Circumstances can change, therefore it’s important to be adaptable and flexible in your goal-setting path.

Reassess your long-term goal on a regular basis and make revisions as needed to ensure that it stays relevant, attainable, and in line with your beliefs and priorities.

Being open to change allows you to better handle life’s twists and turns while remaining true to your goals.

Following the above-mentioned planned method will boost your chances of attaining your long-term goals and establishing the life you’ve always desired. If you’re looking for some long-term goal examples, here are a couple to get you started.

40 Long-Term Goals Examples

These 40 examples of long-term goals are organized into four categories: career goals, personal goals, financial goals, and business goals. Take them as references and inspiration to help you set your own goals.

Long-Term Career Goals

1. Obtain a professional certification in your field.
2. Earn a master’s or Ph.D. in your profession.
3. Develop your expertise in a chosen field.
4. Advance to a position of leadership or management.
5. Make a name for yourself as an industry thought leader.
6. Mentor or coach others in your field.
7. Write a book or publish articles in your field.
8. Learn a new skill set, such as a programming language.
9. Create a strong professional network in your field.
10. Transition into a new career that corresponds with your interests and values.

Long-Term Personal Goals

1. Run a marathon or participate in a triathlon.
2. Learn a new language and become fluent in it.
3. Visit all seven continents.
4. Develop and maintain a regular meditation practice.
5. Master a musical instrument.
6. Read 100 books on a specific topic or theme.
7. Become proficient in a new hobby, such as photography or painting.
8. Improve your public speaking skills.
9. Create deep, long-lasting bonds with friends and family.
10. Dedicate time volunteering and giving back to your community.

Long-Term Financial Goals

1. Attain financial independence by a certain age.
2. Set aside a set amount of money for retirement.
3. Pay off any outstanding debts, including student loans and mortgages.
4. Create and keep a six-month emergency fund.
5. Invest in a portfolio that includes stocks, bonds, and real estate.
6. Put money aside for a down payment on a house.
7. Create a stream of passive income through investments or side hustles.
8. Develop a comprehensive financial plan and review it on a regular basis.
9. Set aside money for your children’s college tuition.
10. Contribute as much as possible to retirement funds, such as a 401(k) or an IRA.

Long-Term Business Goals

1. Launch a successful startup company.
2. Take your company to new markets or areas.
3. Increase annual revenue by a predetermined percentage.
4. Develop and launch a new product or service.
5. Create and sustain a positive business culture.
6. Implement ecologically sustainable business methods in your activities.
7. Build a robust and devoted customer base.
8. Establish strategic alliances and cooperation.
9. Make your company a market leader.
10. Exit your firm successfully through a sale or merger.

Final Thoughts

Long-term goals act as a guidepost, pointing you in the direction of a greater future while also keeping you focused and inspired. You may realize your greatest potential and make a significant difference in your life by setting long-term goals and consciously working toward them.

I encourage you to focus on your goals and develop meaningful long-term goals that are aligned with your values and passions. Embrace the journey, appreciate your successes along the way, and keep in mind that the path to success is rarely a straight line.

You can achieve great things and make your ambitions a reality with dedication, determination, and a clear vision.

TL;DR

Don't have time for the full article? Read this.

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Long-term goals are objectives that you create with the intention of accomplishing them in the future, perhaps months or even years down the line.

❯

Long-term goals require advance planning, consistent effort, and a long-term commitment.

❯

Long-term goals often pose enormous barriers, but conquering them can result in great personal growth and a sense of accomplishment.

❯

Long-term goals and short-term goals are the two basic sorts of objectives that complement each other for effective goal-setting and overall achievement.

❯

While long-term goals provide direction and purpose, short-term goals provide a more achievable and structured path to those larger goals.

❯

Setting long-term goals allows you to create a clear direction to work with intention, help you achieve greater success, and help you to prioritize and stay focused.

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To set and reach your long-term goals, take these steps: 1) Visualize your ideal future, 2) Set a SMARTer goal, 3) Break it down into short-term goals, 4) Track your progress, 5) Re-evaluate your goal and make adjustments when necessary.

Featured photo credit: Bench Accounting via unsplash.com