Careers360 Logo
How to Set Goals in Life - Top 8 Ways to Set Goals

How to Set Goals in Life - Top 8 Ways to Set Goals

Edited By Team Careers360 | Updated on Dec 15, 2021 11:40 AM IST

How to Set Goals in Life - Have you considered something you would like to be doing in five years? Are you certain about what your ultimate focus at career is right now? Do you have a strategy for completing your goals set for the end of this month?

You must create goals if you want to accomplish something in life. If you don't know how to set goals in life, you will lack guidance and direction. Knowing how to achieve goals in life not only helps you to take charge of your life's path but also gives you a baseline to measure if you're progressing. Consider this: having crores of rupees in the bank is only evidence of success if collecting wealth is your goal. If your purpose is to perform acts of generosity, keeping the money for oneself becomes contradictory to your definition of success.

To know how to make goals in life, you must first understand how to set them. It's not enough to say "I want" and believe it to be achieved. Knowing how to set your goals in life is a process that begins with thorough contemplation of what you want to accomplish and concludes with a great deal of effort to actually accomplish it. There are some fairly well-defined steps in between that go beyond the specifics of each aim. Knowing how to take these steps can help you set goals that you can achieve.

In this article, we provide some principles for learning how to set your goals in life.

See also:

How to set goals in life- Set inspiring goals

When you begin to know how to achieve goals in life, it's critical that they inspire you. This entails making sure they're important to you and that working towards them is meaningful. If the outcome is unimportant to you, or if it is meaningless in the bigger picture, the likelihood of you putting in the effort to make it happen will be relatively low. In order to know how to achieve goals in life, you must be motivated.

Sometimes you can wind up with far too many goals if you don't have your priorities set. Setting your priorities is an important step to learn how to make your goals because you won't have the time to commit to each goal you aspire to. To boost your chances of success, you should have a sense of desperation and a mindset of "I must do this". If you don't have this required attitude while setting up a goal, you'll be unsatisfied, which will also make you feel demotivated.

See also:

How to set goals in life- Set SMART goals

The basic rule to know how to set goals in your life is that they must be established in a SMART manner. The acronym SMART represents that goals should be:

  • Specific

  • Measurable

  • Attainable

  • Relevant

  • Time-bound

How to set goals in life- Specific Goals

Your goal must be precise and well-defined. Goals that are ambiguous or generalized are ineffective because they lack clarity. Goals provide you with the guiding light in various phases of life. So make it as easy as possible to get where you want to go by providing specific directions. It is an important aspect of how to make goals in life.

How to set goals in life- Measurable Goals

To know how to achieve goals in life and to track your success, include exact figures, dates, and other parameters in your goals. How would you know when you've achieved your goal if it's as simple as "increase marks", instead of “increase marks by 20%”? You miss out on the joy that comes with knowing you've accomplished something if you don't have a way to track your progress.

See also:

How to set goals in life- Achievable Goals

You will simply demoralize yourself and weaken your morale if you set a goal that you have little chance of attaining. However, avoid the urge to select too easy goals. At best, achieving a goal for which you didn't have to work hard towards can be unsatisfying, and it can also make you avoid setting future objectives with a risk of failure. Setting sensible yet challenging goals helps you strike the right balance and answer how to set your goals in life. These are the types of goals that force you to "lift the bar," and they provide the most personal fulfilment.

How to set goals in life- Relevant Goals

Goals should be linked to the life and career route you want to take. If you keep your objectives in line with this, you'll have the focus you need to get ahead and do what you desire. If you set goals that keep on changing and are highly inconsistent, it can be a waste of your time and efforts.

How to set goals in life- Time-bound Goals

Your objectives must be time-bound in order to answer how to make goals in life. This implies you'll be able to recognize when you've achieved something. When you're working on a deadline, your sense of urgency arises, and you'll achieve more quickly.

See also:

How to set goals in life- Write down your goals

When you write down a goal, it becomes tangible. You have no basis for overlooking it. Use the word "will" instead of "would like to" or "may" in your writing. "I will increase my scores by 10% this year," rather than "I would like to increase my scores by 10% this year," for example. The first goal statement is powerful because you can "see" yourself increasing scores, whereas the second lacks passion and provides an excuse if you go off track.

See also: 13+ courses on team building to achieve goals effectively

Remember that knowing how to set goals in life is a continuous process, not just a means to an end. Set milestones to keep yourself on schedule, and schedule time to review your progress on a regular basis. While your long-term destination may remain the same, the plan of action you set for yourself along the way may shift radically.

Maintain a high level of usefulness, quality, and demand. Setting goals entails much more than simply stating your desire for something to occur. Your chances of success are greatly diminished unless you clearly describe what you want and why you desire it in the first place. You may establish goals with certainty and enjoy the sense of satisfaction with knowing you accomplished what you set out to do.

Read more:

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. Why is it important to set goals?

Knowing how to achieve goals in life not only helps you to take charge of your life's path but also gives you a baseline to measure if you're progressing.

2. Why should I set inspiring goals?

If the outcome of a goal is unimportant to you, or if it is meaningless in the bigger picture, the likelihood of you putting in the effort to make it happen is relatively low.

3. What are SMART goals?

The acronym SMART represents that goals should be:

  • Specific

  • Measurable

  • Attainable

  • Relevant

  • Time-bound

4. Why should goals be specific?

Goals that are ambiguous or generalized are ineffective because they lack clarity.

5. Why should I not set a too easy goal?

Achieving a goal for which you didn't have to work hard can be unsatisfying, and it can also make you avoid setting future objectives with a risk of failure.

Get answers from students and experts
Back to top