12 Types of Goals: The Complete Guide to Goal Setting -

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Table of Contents

What is Goal Setting?

Goal setting is a fundamental component of achieving success in any area of life. Goal setting can be described as simply getting clear about what it is that you want to achieve. This can be for any area of your life or business.

Goal setting can be used to achieve financial success, lose weight, find love, travel the world, and much more.

Once you apply goal setting to one area of your life, you will naturally start to apply to other areas as well.

For instance, if you apply goal setting to your business and start seeing more success, you will naturally start applying to other areas of your life where you want to have more success.

Setting goals can be as simple as writing down a wish or desire, and as detailed as writing down a step-by-step action plan to achieving your dream life.

One of the most effective methods for goal setting is called the SMART method. SMART is an acronym for:

Strategic
Measurable
Actionable
Realistic
Time-bound

This method has been used by some of the most successful people on earth and numerous studies have shown it to be effective. I will go into more detail on the SMART method a little later.

Why Are Goals Important?

Goal setting is an integral part of success. In fact, many ultra-successful people would argue that setting goals is paramount to achieving success in business and life.

The reason why is simply this; without goals we don’t know what to focus on and work towards. Our energy is scattered in different directions and nothing meaningful gets accomplished.

I like to use the analogy of a boat without a rudder. If your goal was to sail your ship across the Pacific Ocean to the islands of Hawaii, your boat would need to have a rudder to steer your ship in the right direction.

Without a rudder you wouldn’t stand a chance of arriving at your destination. You would just float around aimlessly.

This is how most people without goals go through life, aimlessly. They might have a general idea of what they want but they don’t have a clear map of how to get there. Think of your goals as the map. They will guide you to your desired destination in life.

In fact, research shows that having clear goals can increase your chances of achieving success.

One study analyzed athletes who were receiving athletic rehabilitation over a 5-week period. One group of the athletes was assigned to a goal setting intervention.

After the 5-week study, the goal setting group showed the highest level of self-efficacy and were much more organized in their approach.

Furthermore, by writing down your goals you can further increase your chances of success.

Psychologist Gail Matthews conducted a study in 2015 which showed that when people wrote down their goals, they were 33 percent more successful in achieving them than those who had merely formulated a plan in their head.

Moreover, setting goals is also linked with higher levels of motivation, self-confidence, and autonomy.

So, now that you’re convinced that goal setting is an important component to achieving success is life, let’s go over the different types of goals that you can set.

In this article, I cover 11 types of goals that you can set and how they can positively impact your life.

Let’s get started.

Time Based Goals

The first three goal types are based on time. They are short-term goals, long-term goals, and lifelong goals.

When setting goals, it’s important to incorporate all three. For instance, you will learn that setting short-term goals is important to achieving long-term goals and so forth.

As you learn about the different types of goals start thinking about which goals would be short-term, long-term, or lifelong.

This will help you to organize your goals into manageable steps that you can start taking action towards.

Now, let’s dive in.

1. Short-Term goals

It’s great to have big ambitious goals in life, but in order to achieve those bigger goals, you first need to break them down into smaller short-term goals.

Short terms goals are things that you want to accomplish in the relatively near future. That could mean this week, this month, or even this year.

But short-term goals are typically something that you would like to achieve in one year or less. Short-term goals are an integral part of any goal setting strategy and paramount to achieving any long-term goal.

You can think of short terms goals as steppingstones, they help bridge the gap between where you are now to where you want to be in the future.

For example, say you set a goal to have six pack abs before you hit the beach next summer. It’s good to have an overall long-term goal, but it’s equally important to have short-term goals to get you started.

A good example of a short-term goal in this situation would be:

I will lose 2 pounds in the next 7 days.

What makes this a good short-term goal is that it’s a short time frame and it’s realistic. In other words, it’s not so long that you will lose interest and it’s attainable for most people.

Now, 2 pounds might not sound like much but If you were to stick with this goal for a couple of months the pounds would quickly add up.

When setting short term goals, just remember to make your goal and timeline realistic. If you don’t—you will likely get frustrated and want to give up.

Remember, short term goals can add up to massive success.

2. Long-Term Goals

Now, these are typically your loftier goals. Long term goals are anything that you would like to accomplish in one year or more. This could be one year, five years, ten years, or longer.

Long-term goals are usually broader and more ambitious than short-term goals. Thus, they require more time and effort to accomplish.

When thinking of a timeline for a goal— I like to remind myself of this famous quote from Bill Gates:

“Most people overestimate what they can do in one year and underestimate what they can do in ten years.”

This is why most people get frustrated and quite within the first year of planning a goal. They get carried away with short term expectations and then fall short.

It’s better to think of short-term goals as steppingstones to larger goals. This way you won’t get as discouraged when you fall short on your short-term goals.

Here are some examples of long-term goals:

I will have $30,000 set aside for a down payment on January 1^st, three years from now.

This is a good example of a long-term goal because it states a specific amount of money and it establishes a clear timeline.

Here are some more examples of long-term goals:

Pay off my student loans in exactly two years from now.
Save $100,000 towards my retirement by January 1^st 2030.
Lose 25 pounds by the first of next year.
Finish writing my novel by January 1^st, two years from now.

Long term goals can be as specific as making a certain amount of money by a certain date, or as general as moving to another country.

However, in general it’s better to be as specific as possible. This way you will have a clear target to aim for.

With that being said, don’t let specifics keep you from setting long-term goals. You can always go back and revise them later.

The most important thing is to write down your lofty goals as long-term goals, set a deadline of one year or longer, and start taking actions steps daily. This is a tried-and-true recipe for success.

“When setting a long-term goal, find the pace necessary to achieve it.” – Rickson Gracie

3. Lifetime Goals

Lifetime goals are big picture goals. They are your loftiest, most ambitious, and often most intimidating goals.

Lifetime goals can take anywhere from one year to a lifetime to achieve. These are goals that make you light up when you think of them.

Coming up with lifetime goals requires the use of imagination. It requires thoughtful planning and consideration. There’s no need to rush this process, you have plenty of time.

If you want a good technique for discovering what your lifetime goals are— find somewhere quiet where you won’t be disturbed, close your eyes, and imagine what your ideal life would look like.

Don’t worry about being realistic, these are your lifelong goals and dreams so go big. Also, don’t try to figure out how you would accomplish these goals, just imagine your ideal life and what that would look like.

You may want to ask yourself some expansive questions to help spark your imagination.

Here are some examples of lifetime goal questions:

What’s my dream house look like?
If I could live anywhere, where would I live?
If money were no option, what would I want to do with my life?
If I were 90 years old, what would I regret not doing in my life?
What legacy do I want to leave behind?

You may even want to start a bucket list. In case you’re not familiar, a bucket list is simply a list of all the things that you want to accomplish in your lifetime.

This is an excellent exercise to discover your lifetime goals.

Keep in mind, creating lifetime goals is an adaptive process. In other words, your goals will change over time. Your lifetime goals today might not be the same a year from now and that’s perfectly fine.

Your lifetime goals will likely change as you grow and experience life. Personally, I find that a couple of my lifelong goals change every five years or so.

“The greater danger for most of us isn’t that our aim is too high and miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it.”
– Michelangelo

4. Career goals

Career goals are simply the dreams and aspirations that one has for their career. Most people have set a career goal at some point in their professional life.

Whether it’s to make a certain amount of money or to be promoted to a prestigious title, career goals encompass a wide range of metrics.

Your career goals should reflect the values and vision you have for your career and future.

Moreover, career goals are an important component for career success and without them it’s difficult to achieve meaningful and lasting success in one’s career.

For instance, if you don’t establish a clear goal to become the President of your company, then it’s less likely that you will have the focus and persistence to achieve that title.

Achieving a high level of success in one’s career requires discipline and hard work. Having a clear set of objectives can help you to stay focused on your vision even when faced with challenging times.

Career goals can be made up of short term, long term, and lifelong goals. In fact, I recommend incorporating all three goal types into your career goal setting strategy.

Here are some examples of career goals:

Find a job that pays $120,000 per year by January 1^st of next year.
Become the CEO of my company in the next 5 years.
Transfer to the new office branch in Honolulu, Hawaii in the next 6 months.
Become a world renown expert in my career field.
Start my own business by February 1st of this year.
Win the Top Salesman Award in my company in the next two years.

Whether you want to become the CEO of your company or you just want to have better work/life balance, setting career goals will help you get there.

To start, write out a list of everything that you would like to have in your career. Start with the end in mind.

Ask yourself questions like: What would my ideal career look like?

Then start working backwards. List out all of the action steps that you would need to take in order to achieve your dream.

Don’t get discouraged if you can’t connect all of the dots at first, you will revise this list over time.

Once you have your list—start breaking your goals into short-term action steps and start taking implementing them every day.

Who knows, maybe soon you’ll have the letters CEO before your name.

5. Business goals

Business goals are milestones and accomplishments that a business owner hopes to achieve within a given period of time.

In order for business owners to succeed in our increasingly competitive business environment, they must create and implement goals for their business.

Without setting specific and actionable goals, business owners will find it increasingly difficult to keep up with their competition.

These goals can include increasing revenue, hiring more employees, expanding a product line, increasing advertising, and much more.

Here are some examples of business goals:

Increase revenue 25% by end of this year.
Open two new stores by January 1^st of next year.
Hire and train 5 new employees by March 1^st of this year.
Increase our market share by 5% in the next 5 years.
Launch new product by end of the month.

In order to achieve your business goals, you must first establish business objectives. Business objectives are well defined and actionable steps that can be taken to reach your business goals.

Once you have clearly laid out your business objectives then you can start implementing the action steps necessary to achieve your goals.

Implementing business goals will help stay focused on the steps that can take your business to the next level.

6. Financial goals

Setting financial goals can be a stress inducing proposition for many. In fact, some people are too afraid to even look at their current financial situation.

This is usually because they are spending more than they are making. As a result, they are digging themselves into a financial pit of doom (queue the dramatic music).

None the less, setting financial goals is an activity that everyone must get comfortable doing. Financial goals are usually centered around savings, retirement planning, paying off debt, acquiring assets, and much more.

When planning your financial goals, it’s important to figure out what your short-term and long-term objectives are.

Once you have your financial objectives figured out, list them in order of their importance. For instance, paying off your credit cards may be more important than saving for a new car.

Here are some examples of financial goals:

Pay off mortgage within the next 10 years.
Save 15% of my paycheck every month.
Pay off credit card by the end of the year.
Invest $50 every month into children’s college fund of the next 10 years.
Increase income by 20% in the next 6 months.

Writing out your financial goals is taking a big step towards securing your financial dreams. Remember, these things take time so the sooner you get started the better.

7. Personal Development Goals

Let’s face it, most of us aren’t living up to our full potential. We know deep down that we are capable of achieving greatness, but we are uncertain of how.

That’s where personal development come in. Personal development goals are meant to help us grow into the person that we want to become.

Setting personal development goals involves honestly assessing yourself and figuring out what areas of your life could use some improvement.

This could include learning a new skill, expanding your knowledge, overcoming fears, taking more responsibility, and much more.

Here are some examples of personal development goals:

Read 1 new book every week.
Spend 1 hour every day learning new language
Reach out to 5 inspirational people every week
Improve public speaking ability
Practice developing a growth mindset

Setting personal development goals will allow you to analyze your life and focus on areas that you would like to improve.

To start, focus on making small improvements, this will increase your confidence and give you the motivation to take on bigger goals.

“Personal development is a major time-saver. The better you become, the less time it takes you to achieve your goals.” Brian Tracy

8. Leisure Goals

“All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.” Sound familiar? This is more than just a great cinematic quote, it’s a philosophy to work and life.

Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s great to work hard and strive for greatness, but it’s also important to take time and have fun.

This is why setting leisure goals is so important. Leisure goals are made up of activities that you want to do with your free time.

These can include hobbies, sports, social activities, travel, reading, and much more. Setting leisure goals is very personalized and every person is going to have their own unique set of goals.

For instance, one of my leisure goals is painting. I’ve set a side some of my leisure time on the weekends to paint and so far, it’s been a very rewarding experience.

Now, painting might not seem like an appealing way for you to spend your leisure time, and that’s ok. The point is to find activities that you find enjoyable and that enrich your life.

Here are some examples of leisure goals:

Take dog to the dog park.
Meet friends for happy hour.
Go workout at the gym.
Play favorite video game.
Go for a hike in nature.

Whether you spend your leisure time playing your favorite video game or attempting to paint a masterpiece, the most important things are that your leisure time is fun and fulfilling.

9. Spiritual Goals

Many people have their own interpretation of what the term “spiritual” means. To me, spirituality represents the connection I have to myself and my surroundings.

Personally, I think having a strong spiritual practice is a fundamental component to living a happy, successful, and well-balanced life.

Whether it’s through meditation, yoga, qigong, tai chi, or prayer, spiritual practices can help to nourish your body, mind, and soul.

Here are some examples of spiritual goals:

Meditate for 30 minutes every day.
Practice yoga for 20 minutes every morning.
Write down 5 things I’m grateful for every night.
Use Tai Chi to strengthen connection to my body.
Read an uplifting book for 30 minutes every morning.

When you find a spiritual practice that works for you, try to commit to a daily practice. It doesn’t have to be a lengthy practice, even 5 minutes a day will benefit you greatly.

Just remember, consistency is key. If you can stick to a daily spiritual practice it will eventually turn into a daily habit and you will be able to integrate into your life seamlessly.

10. Educational Goals

In our modern, hyper-competitive world, setting education goals has never been more important. Technology is moving at a breakneck speed and leveling up your skills is a necessity if you want to stay competitive.

In the past, educational goals mostly pertained to college or grad school. However, now there are online programs and institutions that allow anyone to learn a specific skill set from the comfort of their own home.

This high level of convenience has made learning a new skill easier than ever. However, it’s also allowed more people to learn valuable skills than ever before, thus making the landscape more competitive.

As a result, it’s important that you push yourself to learn new skills and always be leveling up your current skill sets.

For example, say you set a goal to learn digital marketing. There are several online platforms like Udemy and Udacity that offer classes on digital marketing. Many of these courses are taught by industry experts.

Here are some more examples of educational goals:

Finish bachelor’s degree by end of this year.
Learn to code through a coding bootcamp.
Attend an industry event to learn the latest developments.
Take online courses to expand my current skill set.
Join a local meetup group to learn from industry experts.

Whether you want to go back to college, take an online course, or join a local meetup group, setting educational goals will allow you to grow your skill sets, expand your knowledge, and help you to stay competitive in an increasingly competitive world.

11. Relationship Goals

We all know the importance of having healthy relationships. However, research shows that many people are suffering from isolation and loneliness.

I often see people neglecting their most important relationships because of work obligations. This ultimately creates an unhealthy work/life balance and can often lead to burn out.

Furthermore, research shows that having good relationships can help you live longer, better manage stress, increase your immune system, and increase longevity.

In order to maintain healthy relationships, you should set aside time to write down relationship goals.

For instance, say you wanted to spend more time with your closest friends. A good goal might be to meet with friends for happy hour at least once per week.

Here are some examples of relationship goals:

Designate alone time every week with your partner/spouse.
Call/text friends and ask them how they’re doing.
Meet one new like-minded person every week.
Spend more one-on-one time with children.
Take a family vacation every year.

Without having healthy relationships, we can’t live up to our full potential. Relationships are an innate part of human nature and they require attention and care.

Setting relationships goals will help to not only improve your relationships but your physical and psychological well-being as well.

“A deep sense of love and belonging is an irreducible need of all men, women, and children. We are biologically, cognitively, physically, and spiritually wired to love, to be loved, and to belong.” – Brene Brown

12. Physical and Health Goals

Physical health is a crucial factor for living your best life. Without our health we have nothing. Everything we do is dependent on the health of our body and mind.

Every aspect of your life is affected by your current level of health. If your out of shape, you will have less energy which will have a negative effect on the quality of your work.

Maintaining a healthy body should be at the top of your goals list. This is why everyone should take the time to make a physical health goals list.

Your physical health goals can include specific exercises, lifting goals, body composition, endurance levels, and much more.

Here are some examples of physical and health goals:

Start everyday with 30 minutes of aerobic exercise
Implement intermittent fasting into my daily routine
Drink a green smoothie every day for lunch
Take the stairs at work instead of the elevator
Eliminate refined sugar from diet
Do 50 pushups every day

Its never to late to get in the best shape of your life. I’ve seen some remarkable body transformations over the years, and I know that anything is possible if you’re willing to put in the work.

However, don’t try to take on too much at first. Pick a couple of goals that will get you pointed in the right direction.

Just remember, the aim is to make these physical health goals a part of your everyday routine. This means turning them into daily habits.

S.M.A.R.T. Goals

Now, that you’re familiar with all the different types of goals, its time to start implementing them.

In order to make you goals as effective as possible, we are going to use a goal setting strategy called the SMART method.

The SMART Method was introduced in Peter Drucker’s Management by Objectives concept and has since been used by business managers and executives across the world.

The SMART method is an acronym which stands for Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Relevant, and Time-bound.

Here are some examples of SMART goals:

I will do 50 pushups in the morning before work—5 days a week.
I will make dinner for my significant other every day this week.
I will meditate every morning for 20 minutes for the next two weeks.
I will increase my income by 25% by the end of this year by taking on new clients.
I will read 20 pages every night before bed for the next 60 days.

When writing SMART goals make sure to ask yourself plenty of questions. This will help you to fine tune your strategy so you can focus on what’s most important.

While it’s important to make your SMART goals realistic, don’t be afraid to push yourself outside of your comfort zone.

This will turn your goals into stretch goals. This will help you to achieve your goals quicker while improving your current skill level.

Final Thoughts

Setting goals is one of the fundamental rules to living a productive and happy life. By setting goals for yourself—you will be taking ownership of your life and directing it towards the future that you desire.

Don’t narrow you focus to just one type of goal, try to incorporate as many of the different types of goals that I covered in this article.

This will allow you to live a well-rounded and successful life. The aim is to identify the areas in your life that matter most and dedicate your energy to growing and nurturing those areas.

Furthermore, make sure you list out your goals and work towards them every day. After a while, this will turn into a habit and it will become a natural part of your daily routine.

Furthermore, it will help to keep a designated journal for your goals. I use the SELF journal, but you can use any journal that you like.

Once you list out all of your goals, use the SMART method to break your goals into actionable steps. The SMART method will help you to get crystal clear on your goals so you can start taking action right away.

Finally, setting goals will help you get focused on what it is that you want in your life and business. However, it will not guarantee success.

Success requires showing up every day and working consistently towards your dreams, no matter what obstacles lie in your way.

Write down your goals and read them every day, and remember, it’s ok to feel like giving up-just as long as you don’t.

My Favorite Quote on Goal Setting

“Our goals can only be reached through a vehicle of a plan, in which we must fervently believe, and upon which we must vigorously act. There is no other route to success.” —Pablo Picasso