How to set personal  life goals for growth

You are designed for a purpose. It is up to you to identify it.  Motivation is an important tool that stimulates people and makes you do what you are doing. You might be aware that motivation can be due to both intrinsic and extrinsic factors. Self-motivation is an intrinsic factor and it has been established that there is a strong correlation between self-motivation and setting personal goals. However, the goals in life are highly personal and can vary from a person to another and it is likely to keep changing at different stages of life. Nevertheless, you cannot deny the fact that if you have clear goals you would be motivated to achieve it.

About goals and why they keep changing

When you ask a person, What is your goal in life? The answer that a student gives would be to pass the exams with flying colors, for a youth it would be to get a good job right after graduation, for a middle-aged person, it is to get the son or daughter married or being promoted to a better post in the office depending on whether the person is career-oriented or family-oriented or both. Similarly, it keeps changing because once you achieve something you wanted, you tend to set new life goals. For example, if learning to swim is your goa, once you learn it, you tend to set learning to drive a vehicle as your next goal in life. However, the goals keep changing and your motivation leads you to achieve it. You may conclude that goal in life is something that provides direction in the longterm and motivation in the short term.

Categories of life goals

Setting goals based on your strengths and achieving it would make your life successful. it would include goals in life across various categories. Some of the common examples of life goals across various categories include

  • Academic goals- what is the qualification or knowledge you wish to gain?
  • Career goals- what type of job do you want to do and what is the post you wish to reach?
  • Monetary goals- What is the earnings you are expecting at the given point of time?
  • Ethical goals- This again stresses answering the one great question What is your goal in life? Is it to be of service to humanity, is it to enter politics? Is it to be of help to the people in the neighborhood? etc.
  • Physical goals- whether you want to excel in a particular sport? Or whether you want to learn two or more sports that you are interested in?
  • Domestic goals-  how you wish to lead your domestic life now and in the future?
  • Creative goals-whether you wish to excel in an art form?

Once you have set the life goals based on these categories you may direct your actions towards achieving it.

 Setting SMART goals

Achieving goals in life become easier and simple when you break down the life goals into smaller easily achievable parts called SMART goals that are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and timed.

Reviewing the goals

Man proposes god disposes of goes a saying. At times you might face a situation where you cannot achieve the goals despite trying your best. Alternatively, there might be a situation where the goals you set are no longer relevant to you.  In such cases, it is important to review your goals and align them in line with the current situation.

You can follow these steps to set life goals that will ensure growth and development in all aspects of life.