How to Set Goals

Setting goals allows you to choose how you want to move through life. Some achievements can take a lifetime to attain, while others can be completed in the course of a day. Setting and meeting goals leads to feelings of satisfaction and accomplishment. Getting started can seem daunting, but we'll show you how to build up to it.

Edit Steps

Method One: Setting Broad Overarching Goals

Think about the "big picture." Ask yourself some important questions about what you want for your life. The answers to this question can be as general as "I want to be happy," or "I want to help people," or "I want to be fit."
- These general statements can help hone in on the things that really matter to you. Recognizing the things you value will guide your decision-making and keep you focused on your end goals.
- Think of the answers to your "big picture" questions as things you hope to attain 10, 15, or 20 years from now.

Break the "big picture" down into smaller and more specific goals. Consider areas of your life that you either want to change or that you feel you would like to develop with time. Begin to ask yourself questions about what you'd like to achieve in each area and how you would like to approach it within a five year timeframe.
- In terms of your career, you may ask yourself what your ideal job is. What steps do you need to take to get that job? What are the roadblocks? Do you need a specific degree or certificate?
- With financial goals, you may want to consider where the money will come from. How much money you will need to live comfortably? What are the best ways to spend or invest money? Do you want a house, new car, or to begin a retirement plan?
- When it comes to family, do you want to have children, and if so, when? Do you want to have biological children, or are you open to adoption or having stepchildren?
- In thinking about romantic goals, you may consider the type of relationship you want (long-term partner, marriage, open-relationship, etc.), and how you will prioritize the time spent with a partner. What are the characteristics of a mate that make them a good fit for you?
- In terms of education, think about what course of study you'd like to pursue. Are you going to school to further you career? What types of courses do you need to complete for advancement at work? Are there alternate ways to enter the career you want, like apprenticeships or internships?
- In thinking about physical goals, consider whether changes need to be made to make you healthy. What can you do to maintain good health into old age? Think about whether there are specific physical challenges you want to meet such as a major mountain climbing expo or a marathon.

Use the SMART method to create actionable goals. SMART is a mnemonic used by life coaches, motivators, HR departments, and educators for a system of goal identification, setting, and achievement. Every letter in SMART stands for an adjective that describes an effective way to set goals.
- Specific. When setting goals, they should answer the highly specific questions of who, what, where, when, and why. Instead of the general goal, "I want to get into shape," try for a specific goal, "I want to run my first half-marathon this year."
- Measurable. In order for us to track our progress, goals should be quantifiable. "I'm going to walk more" is far more difficult to track and measure than "Everyday I'm going to walk around the track 16 times."
- Attainable. It is important to evaluate your situation honestly and recognize which goals are realistic, and which are a little far-fetched. Instead of, "I am going to be this nation's Mother Teresa," (while admirable) it might be more realistic to say, "I am going to volunteer four nights a week at my local soup kitchen."
- Relevant. Is this goal relevant to your life and to the "big picture" questions you have already asked yourself? Some good questions to ask yourself when figuring this out are: does it seem worthwhile? Is now the right time for this? Does this match my needs?
- Time-related. Setting a "due date" to meet goals not only keeps you on track, but it prevents pesky daily roadblocks from getting in the way. Instead of saying "I'm going to get my college degree", you might consider saying, "I'm going to get my B.A. in 4 years."^[1]

Make each goal a positive statement. Once you've done the brainstorming and considered how to make your goals SMART, it's time to solidify them. Using positive statements is a direct way to affirm your commitment to completing your goals. "I am going to learn how to drive," is a more definitive statement than, "I don't want to have to rely on others to give me rides everywhere."

Create some short-term goals. Once you have decided on your lifelong goals, and goals you'd like to achieve in 5 years, you have the roadmap for setting necessary goals for next year, next month, next week, tomorrow, and today.
- If your goal is to transfer from a junior college to a university within the year, you can investigate the school you want to transfer to online today, make an appointment to speak to a matriculation counselor by the end of the week, visit the school at the end of the month, and plan to request letters of recommendation in 6 months.
- If you want to own your own tattoo shop in the next 6 months, you can canvas neighborhoods for an adequate location tomorrow, contact your bank about personal and small business loans next month, and place an online ad for talented tattoo artists in two months.
- If your goal is to run your first marathon in 8 months, you can call friends who run for tips tonight, ask for shoe recommendations tomorrow, join a running club next week, and begin intensive training in 6 months.

Set priorities. At any given moment, you have a number of goals all in different states of completion. Deciding which goals are more important, or time-sensitive, than others is crucial. If you have a college interview scheduled on the same day as a training session for your big half-marathon, the interview would take precedent as it is far more time-sensitive, and probably more important.

Keep incremental goals small. It can be overwhelming to think about your end goal. If all you say to yourself is, "I have to get married, I have to find someone to marry me," you are missing the incremental goals that form the base of the large goal. Refocus and gain some perspective. Think about creating an online dating profile, meeting someone your friend think you might hit it off with, or joining a social club.

Keep track of your progress. Journaling is a great way to keep track of both personal and professional progress. Checking in with yourself and acknowledging the progress made towards a certain goal is key to staying motivated.
- Asking a friend with similar goals to buddy-up with you is a great way to keep you motivated and to make sure you hit your goal target dates. Consider pairing up with a fellow student facing the same application deadlines if you are applying for school, or another new, emerging artist if you are applying for artist residencies, fellowships, and grants.

Reward your accomplishments. Acknowledge when you have reached goals and allow yourself to celebrate accordingly. Take this time to assess the goal process--from inception to completion.
- If you feel it took too long to achieve this goal, examine you stumbling blocks. Was your goal reasonable? Are there skills you may need to acquire before attempting to complete other goals?
- If you learned something about the way you work towards meeting your goal, is it something that can be applied to other goals? If you really learned how to be proactive with work communications, is that a skill that can be used when you want to find out the status of your school matriculation status?^[2]

Method Two: Setting Specific Manageable Goals

Lose weight. Try not to be discouraged if weight loss takes time. Effective, long-lasting weight loss involves not only diet and exercise, but changing your lifestyle. Choosing a realistic weight loss goal is just the first step in working towards your ideal weight.^[3]
- Talk to your doctor to determine what a healthy weight is for your height and build.
- Set long-term weight loss goals. These goals can be considered end goals--they take time to achieve and are met only after having achieved a number of smaller, shorter-term goals. A reasonable initial weight loss goal is 5-10% of your current body weight. If a person weighs 180 pounds, a safe and reasonable amount of weight to lose initially is between 9 and 18 pounds.
- Set short-term weight loss goals. These shorter term goals are incremental achievements that lead up to the larger, long-term goal. A short-term goal would be to to lose 1-2 pounds per week. If weight loss is consistent, in less than 3 months, you can achieve the longer-term goal of losing that 5-10% body weight.^[4]
- Celebrate reaching weight loss milestones. Take the time to assess where you are in your larger target goal. Once you've met a long-term weight loss goal, you can decide whether you should lose more, or whether you can enter into the maintenance phase of weight loss.

Get married. Pressure to get married can be extremely stressful and can make having healthy relationships difficult. When goals you have involve other people, hitting goal targets can be difficult. While you can't force someone to marry you, there are things you can do to make this goal more feasible.
- If you're not already in a relationship, put yourself out there. The more people you meet and the more relationships--platonic or romantic--you build, the higher the chances are that you will find someone you are serious about.
- While the long-term goal is finding a long-term relationship and getting married, the short-term goals can be as simple as creating an online dating profile by the end of the week. Another short-term goal could be to email 3 people from the site per day or making a date with one person every week.
- If you are already in a relationship, realize that goal-setting that involves another person is complicated because the success or failure of that goal is contingent on what the other person chooses to do. If their goals or values differ from yours, you may fail to meet your goal through no fault of your own. A short-term goal for a person in a relationship may be to talk about the desire to get married, and to determine if the goal is a shared one.^[5]

Apply to college. Applying to college is a great goal-oriented, time-driven endeavor. There is a definite long-term end goal, there are deadlines, and there are many short-term goals to meet.
- The year before college applications are due is full of material gathering, test taking, recommendation requesting, and essay writing. Each event on its own can be viewed as a unique short-term goal to be accomplished. Refer to the college application for the list of materials due.
- Calendaring all due dates and deadlines can you meet all the small goals. Testing is a major component of college applications. Know ahead of time that before the actual test date, you may need to enroll in a test prep course. You will definitely need time to study and read through sample tests. All your pre-test preparation moves you closer to completing the short-term goal of taking your exam.
- Letters of recommendation can be viewed as short-term goals that involve another person. In this case, after requesting the letter, you need to proactively communicate with the recommender to ensure it will be ready on time. Often times letter-writing gets put off until the last minute, and if you are not aware of your deadlines, the late letter (short-term goal) can affect the status of your application (long-term goal).

Get a job. Getting a job is a self-directed activity that will involve you setting your own goals and timeframe. Job hunting involves research and investigation. Learning about companies, job functions, and qualifications will alert to to whether you are eligible and interested.
- Know what you want. Think, specifically, about the type of job you want and the types of skills you have. Being clear about who you are and what you want can help focus a job search. Your resume and cover letter(s) should reflect your job needs and wants.
- Set some short-term goals. This can include contacting a job recruiter by the end of the day, sending cover letters and resumes to 5 different companies, or making contacts with 2 people from an online career networking site by the end of the week. The following week can include a number of follow-ups with contacts and companies.
- Other short-term goals may include attending networking events, trade shows, or meet-ups of those in your industry. You can plan to speak to 3 people at each event, or exchange business cards with 8 different people. Following up with people at these events can be yet another short-term goal.

Run a marathon. Physical goals require both time and planning, and setting long and short-term goals can help you track your progress. Running a marathon is something both experienced and new runners will need to train for.
- As a beginner, setting short-term goals will help condition you and prepare you for long runs. You may begin by walking and running in short intervals every other day for the first week. The next week your goal may be only running every other day. In weeks closer to the run date you may run 2-3 miles per day, building to 5-6. Charting and tracking your progress will allow you to see the progress you've made with the completion of many smaller, manageable goals.^[6]
- As a more experienced runner, you may choose to focus your short-term running goals on building speed. Again charting and tracking your increased speed will allow you to track your progress as you build towards the longer-term goal.