Living without a vision is similar to living without a purpose — it is essentially a waste of time.
If you don’t wake up energized every morning to make your day an amazing one, you probably don’t have a life goals list to achieve.
It is never too early (or too late) to make a list of things that you want to do in your lifetime.
So, what are your goals in life?
Let’s look at some good personal goals and life goal ideas to help you get started on setting goals for yourself.
Knowing the benefits that setting good long-term goals can bring to your life might give you the kick in the pants you need to clarify what you want to aim for.
The Power and Benefits of Setting Goals
Setting goals gives you something to work towards in life and brings you a sense of purpose.
When you set your goals, you are taking the first step toward achieving them.
Writing down your goals is essential because it helps you switch from being in a passive state to being actively involved in your life.
The act of writing cements your goals in your mind.
In order to get what you want, you have to first figure out what those things are and then find a way to obtain them.
Setting goals can bring about huge personal gains like:
1. Taking Control of Your Life
Without goals, you can spend your life running in circles without achieving anything.
However, when you stop to set goals and think about the things that you want, you stop living on auto-pilot and start living a conscious life.
Rather than allowing other people to tell you what to do, you take charge and think about what you want for yourself.
2. Get Better Results
When you have goals, you are working toward a vision. You push yourself to achieve the best results instead of sitting back and waiting for things to happen.
Whatever gets measured, gets improved. Without setting specific targets, there is nothing to work toward, and even if you are working hard, your work may not translate into anything.
Your goals motivate you to take more action than you would have otherwise.
3. Think Ahead
Where do you see yourself in one, three, or five years?
When you set goals, you are thinking ahead and creating an action plan. Even if things don’t go the way you expected, you can review and adjust your plans, and re-route your life toward your vision.
4. Get Motivated
Setting goals connects you with your central desires.
Your goals act as a constant reminder of the things you love and redirect your focus away from negative obstacles challenges.
When you visualize achieving your goals, it will give you the motivation to take action. Every time you stop to think about your purpose, you will gain a renewed sense of energy that will positively influence your behaviors.
5. Stay Accountable
When you have goals, you stay accountable — instead of just talking, you will act. It is a good idea to set small goals so you can always be accountable for some type of target.
If you find you are falling short when you monitor your performance, you can then take the necessary steps to address it.
What Are Your Goals in Life?
If you’re not sure what goals you should set for your life, look toward your values and passions for direction.
Consider the values that you were raised with and think about the ones that make you especially happy in order to get some goal ideas.
The challenge is then to learn how to embrace your values and construct a life that is in harmony with them. Living in line with your values means making the activities, experiences, and people that share those values a priority.
Some general examples of goal ideas are to read more or to stay in touch more frequently with old friends. The key is to figure out what you are most passionate about and tailor your goals around that.
You don’t have to treat your list as something that is set into stone. It can be a living document. Things change, other people change, life’s circumstances change, you change, and you can work around that.
Use your own list as inspiration in your daily life. Use it as an outline to remember what you want out of life.
List of 100 Life Goals and How to Achieve Them
List of Fitness Goal Examples
It is critical to have fitness life goals so you can continuously live an active and healthy life. Each of the following goals targets a different fitness area, from flexibility to strength and endurance.
Once you’ve reached one of these life goals, try reaching the next level by increasing your intensity, reps, or time.
1. Do thirty pushups.
2. Run a 10k.
3. Master five yoga poses.
4. Complete five pull-ups.
5. Touch the rim of a basketball hoop.
6. Do a handstand for at least 10 seconds.
7. Hold a deep squat for one minute.
8. Do a one-arm pushup.
9. Swim a mile.
10. Add sprints to your run.
11. Master four plyometric moves.
List of Creative Goal Examples
To many people, being “creative” is only something that people who create ground-breaking masterpieces can say about themselves.
However, creative projects can be anything that breaks away from established patterns to look at things from a different angle.
Creativity focuses on your ability to come up with original ideas or to make connections between seemingly unrelated ideas or materials.
Our fast-paced society requires creative and innovative thinkers, which is not something that is easily taught in school.
Working on creative goals helps you learn how to cope with problems when you don’t have the necessary resources to find the answer.
12. Write a short story.
13. Take a painting class.
14. Choreograph a dance.
15. Write 1,200 words each day for a month.
16. Create a new recipe and master it.
17. Make a vision board.
18. Learn how to knit.
19. Redesign the inside of your home.
20. Design an innovative technology (even if you don’t plan on having it manufactured).
21. Build something — big or small. It could be a small figure out of clay or an entire piece of furniture made from wood and fabric.
22. Enjoy being a beginner. Master something new, like Hula-Hooping, glass blowing, juggling, or carving wood.
List of Social and Family Goal examples
It is important to have the skills to understand what your current social strengths and limitations are, and how those strengths and limitations have an impact on your life.
Becoming self-aware in this area can help strengthen your personal and professional relationships.
With goals related to your relationships with other people, you can strengthen your connections and support system.
23. Become an active listener by showing a serious effort to focus on what other people are saying and the messages they are trying to convey. Ask follow-up questions and use non-verbal cues to demonstrate interest.
24. Learn to ask for help as easily as you offer it.
25. Reach out to a distant family member at least once a month. Doing this will help you maintain those relationships that are often so easily dissolved.
26. Maintain a healthy work-life balance. This means consciously making time for your social and familial relationships on a regular basis.
27. Learn to forgive. Letting go of any grudges and resentments will not only strengthen your relationships, it will also give you peace of mind.
28. Learn to have empathy. Being able to feel what other people are feeling helps you care for other people and make a difference in your relationships.
29. Live in alignment with your integrity. Living your life as an ethical person, always being honest with other people, having solid values, and being loyal are all examples of ways you can fulfill your own personal operating systems in life.
30. Be respected. As a respectful member of society, people trust and look up to you.
31. Be inspiring. Set positive examples for those around you. Be a role model.
32. Be interpersonally effective. Learn to share your feelings with other people and express yourself freely.
33. Be a good family member. This could involve passing positive values onto your children, having a good marriage, or having a secure relationship with your distant family members.
List of Career Goal Examples
Creating career-life goals is an effective way to map out your future. By knowing the direction you want your life to go, you’re able to focus your energy on meaningful career opportunities.
34. Continue your education, whether it means getting an advanced degree or becoming an expert in your specific skill or craft.
35. Exceed the expectations that are put forth by your superiors.
36. Become a mentor in your field to those who are future professionals.
37. Overcome the fear of public speaking so one day you can call on your verbal communication skills to motivate, teach, and inspire other members of your team.
38. Become a thought leader by starting a blog or sharing your ideas in the community in order to get people talking.
39. Start your own business and fill a void that you see in our society. Meet the unmet needs if people.
40. Become the expert that people seek out in your industry when they want to learn.
41. Make a career out of a hobby. If there is something that you love to do, but don’t make enough money (or any) doing it to support your lifestyle, try perfecting the craft until you can make it a career.
42. Be an innovator or an early-adopter. Use your creativity to come up with a new way of doing things in your job or career.
43. Create a website or promotional materials for your work.
List of Spiritual Goal Examples
You can set spiritual goals to connect to something that is bigger than yourself.
People who have spiritual goals tend to be happier and have greater feelings of well-being and a greater sense of purpose than those without spiritual goals.
These good long-term goals are determined by examining your morals and ethical code and making changes to improve that code. Spiritual goals allow you to identify your beliefs and determine if your current goals match those beliefs.
44. Attend a silent retreat to connect with a higher power and find inner peace.
45. Learn to live in line with your spiritual values, such as forgiveness, compassion, loving other people, and gratitude.
46. Become a master at Reiki or some other natural healing technique.
47. Practice mindfulness by learning to live in the moment. Engaging in mindfulness meditation every day will help you become more mindful in daily life.
48. Drink or bathe in Lourdes water, which is the water that comes from a spring in the Grotto of Massabielle in the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes in France.
49. Read the entire Bible or the great religious works of your particular faith.
50. Take trips to the 50 holiest sites in the world.
51. Find your own answers to these questions:
- Why must anyone suffer?
- Is there an afterlife?
- Why do bad things happen to good people?
- Is everyone connected in some way?
- What is the meaning of life?
52. Interview a spiritual leader and ask them the spiritual questions that you’ve always been curious about.
53. Learn how to identify with your higher self, rather than identifying with your ego.
54. Meet someone who has a religious or spiritual background that’s vastly different from your own and ask them about their beliefs.
55. Become more regular at attending religious services.
List of Knowledge Goal Examples
People often see learning as a life-long challenge. By actively pursuing more knowledge, you can increase your chances of succeeding by making more informed decisions, having more awareness, and stimulating innovation.
When you have life goals for increasing your knowledge, you can re-write the saying, “Change is inevitable, growth is optional” and turn it into “Change is inevitable, growth is intentional.”
56. Take a class that interests you but is irrelevant to your career.
57. Learn a new language.
58. Learn to view your mistakes as lessons and consider the knowledge you can take away from them.
59. Develop the skills that are needed to properly learn, such as laboratory skills, critical thinking skills, problem-solving skills, creative skills, and writing skills.
60. Get an advanced degree in a subject or master the knowledge of one thing in particular.
61. Be open to broadening your perspective on a variety of topics.
62. Recognize that learning can happen anywhere– not just in a formal setting.
63. Gain enough knowledge about a topic to be able to teach a class.
64. Apply knowledge in a useful way to benefit you and those around you.
65. Maintain a positive mindset in all learning environments, even if the information seems confusing or advanced.
List of Financial Goal Examples
Having financial goals will help you make sound decisions regarding your finances and it will help reward you for the financial efforts that you make.
These goals will keep you accountable and provide you with momentum when you are working for your money because you will have a set goal in mind. It will also help you be more mindful of your spending.
66. Build an emergency fund that will pay your bills for nine months in case you lose your source of income.
67. Live debt-free by paying off all credit cards and not opening any new ones. This requires living within your means.
68. Have additional income on top of your primary income. For example, start a side job or pick up a part-time job.
69. Start planning for retirement while you are young so you don’t get to the middle of your life and realize you don’t have any money saved up.
70. Buy a high level of insurance to cover all types of liabilities that you may have, like health insurance, car insurance, and homeowner’s insurance.
71. Cut out the small, frequent purchases. This may be your daily morning coffee or going out to eat every day.
72. Earn enough money to be generous with non-profit organizations and causes that are important to you.
73. Pay off your home within twenty years. The typical mortgage is thirty years, but if you can pay off your home faster, you will save a lot of money in interest.
74. Pay off your student loans and build a college fund for your children.
75. Don’t spend beyond your means. Determine your expenses before you receive your paycheck so you won’t be tempted to buy things you don’t need.
76. Love whatever you are doing that is making you money. This means pursuing your passion until it becomes your source of income.
77. Create a budgeting habit. This can be hard to do, especially if you don’t make a lot of money, but once you figure out your needs and the bills that you need to pay, you can easily create a budget.
List of Healthy Goal Examples
You want to live a healthy lifestyle so you can enjoy longevity without chronic illness.
You only have one body, and it’s important to realize that your health and well-being come from a combination of lifestyle factors.
This means that your healthy goals should focus on the big picture of your health and your life balance.
78. Ditch the junk foods and start eating clean. Plan and prep your meals at the beginning of the week so you don’t have any excuses to pick up fast food on the way home from work.
79. Drink water instead of soda or juice and drink enough water to remain hydrated.
80. Get enough sleep to allow your body to rest and rejuvenate.
81. Exercise for at least thirty minutes, five days per week.
82. Add strength training to your cardio workout.
83. Try a new sport or activity that you have never considered before, like water polo or badminton.
84. Consider taking up rebounding on a mini trampoline to protect your joints while you work out.
85. Train for a marathon, even if you end up just running half of it.
86. Quit smoking and other unhealthy habits.
87. Remember to do more deep breathing throughout the day to keep yourself calm.
88. Help other people live healthier lives.
List of Long-Term Goal Examples
These big goals in life that you envision for your future aren’t easily accomplished and certainly cannot be finished quickly. However, they give you a sense of purpose in life as you work your way to achieving them.
89. Travel abroad to as many countries as possible.
90. Start a family once you feel you are ready.
91. Develop your craft and set milestones you wish to meet.
93. Become your best self — whatever you define that to be.
94. Learn to love what you have rather than longing for more. Practicing mindfulness will help with this.
95. Leave a legacy by making a significant contribution to the world in some way.
96. Create financial freedom so you can enjoy your other goals and dreams.
97. Adopt a child.
98. Set a local, state, or world record in something.
99. Invent something that will benefit society in some way.
100. Rally a community around a social cause that’s important to you.
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It’s time to create your own life goals list.
If you’re ready to define the goals you want to accomplish during your life, today is not too soon to develop your plan.
Review this list to inspire you to create the personal goals you want to achieve over the next few years and in the long-run.
- Write them down in a journal or notebook.
- Set a date by which you want to accomplish each goal.
- Write a list of action steps it will take to realize each goal.
- Create a timeline for taking each action step.
- Plot these action steps in your calendar to ensure you follow through.
By setting goals, you are ensuring your dedication and focus, taking accountability for your life, and pushing yourself to be the best person that you can be.
Your goals allow you to set new milestones and increase your likelihood of attaining prosperity. You will find satisfaction in your life as you achieve your goals.
There are people in your circle who want to set goals and just need that extra motivation to get the ball rolling.
Make it a goal to spread the love by sharing this post on your favorite social media platform and help someone else achieve their dreams.