How to set long term goals.

So I was planning on writing an article on long term goal setting, and was doing some research online. I didn’t find what I was looking for.

I, being an avid reader of books, have done many goal setting exercises in the past. I couldn’t find those books however. I know that it must of been someone like Anthony Robbins, Robert Kiyosaki or Stephen Covey.

But any who… this is a method I’ve used in the past to figure out what you want.

Long term goals, gives our life clarity and meaning. Although it’s the jouney that ultimately counts in Life, having a destination makes the jouney more exciting.

For this long term goal setting excercise, here’s what you’ll need.

• You need to dream. You have to be a dreamer again. You have to be positive. You can’t be afraid of what your heart tells you.
• Some free time, at least one hour. Try to not get interrupted while doing this exercise.
• Piece of paper. You’ll need at least 6 pieces for this exercise. You need to write down the ideas in your head. When you start writing, without stopping, you are writing with passion.
• Something to write with, a pen preferably.
• Watch or Timer. You could use a watch, but it’s better to get a timer, so if you have a kitchen count-down timer, that’ll be great. You could also use an online timer. The reason we use a timer is because, with a sense of urgency, we can tap into what we really want. You start figuring out what’s in your heart, instead of your head.

For your long term goals, try to aim for at least 20 years out. Maybe even 30-40 years out depending on where you are at.

I forgot where I got this, but another good exercise you might want to try, is to write your obituary. What do you want people to remember you for when you die?

In Life there are areas of focus. The big ones are:

• Financial Goals. How much money do you want to make?
• Business Goals. Do you want to start a business? What would your business be like? How much money will it make? Do you have employees? How big is it?
• Relationship Goals. Who do you want to be in your life?
• Entertainment Goals. These are the fun goals. What country do you want to visit? What car do you want to drive? What kind of house do you want to live in?
• Physical Health Goals. How healthy do you want to be? How fit do you want to be? Do you want to quit smoking? Do you want to run a marathon?
• Personal Goals. These could be for all other goals. Do you want to learn the piano? What habits do you want? Do you want to become an early riser?

These are the areas we will be focusing on. If there’s another specific area of your life that’s important to you feel free to add it.

Make sure you have at least an hour of focused attention to do this goal setting exercise.

Steps to figuring out what you want.

1. Get your first pierce of paper.
2. Label it “Financial Goals”.
3. Set your timer for 5 minutes.
4. Now Write! Don’t stop writing. Write whatever it is in your head. Write with your heart. There are no wrong answers. Keep writing, keep the pen moving. Even if you can’t think of anything… keep that pen moving. Visualize your future.
5. Take a minute break… review yourself.
6. Take your next piece of paper and repeat, this time with your “Business Goals” and go down the list.

Remember at the end of the exercise, you can add to your goals, there’s prolly things you’ve forgotten. You could do the exercise for another area of focus not listed. You might want to re-write your goals to clarify them.

At the end of this exercise, you should be really deep within yourself now. You should be trying to figure out who you are, and what you want. Hopefully these steps helped.

If you really bold, you could make your goals s.m.a.r.t.

We are just trying to figure out who you are, and what you want… what makes you tick. What are your passions. What are your dreams, hopes, and aspirations…

Additional Resources:

Powerful Written Goals In 7 Easy Steps!

Goals: Create The Gallery of Your Life

77 Goal Setting Tips

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