Types of Goals

Goals are very personalized, they are about who you are and what you want out of life.  However, they do generally fall into one of these three broad categories:

Long-Term Goals (Milestone Goals)

Medium- Term Goals (Intermediate Goals)

Short-Term Goals (Mini Goals)

 

S - Specific: 

  • Developing a new skill or improving current skills.
  • Beating old habits, or developing better ones.
  • Achieving a desired outcome or dream.

M - Measurable:

  • Have a yardstick for measuring outcomes. Example: I want to earn a 3.5 GPA this year with no grade below B.

A - Attainable:

  • Do I have enough information and resources to achieve my objective?
  • Do I need to modify my objective?
  • Do I need to insert another objective or additional step before I can make progress?

 R - Realistic:

  •  Am I making progress?
  • Are my needs, wants, and priorities still the same?
  • Are there any wishes I need to add to my list?
T – Time Based :
  
 
  • Long Term Goals or Milestone Goals
  • Medium Term Goals or Intermediate Goals
  • Short Term Goals or Mini Goals

Quite often you may have a series of goals that lead you to one long-term goal. For example, you might have a set of goals that looks something like this:

  1. Finish high-school and get into college
  2. Complete a bachelors degree
  3. Get accepted into law school
  4. Graduate from law school
  5. Pass the bar exam
  6. Land a high paying defence attorney job

Each point along the path to the end result is a milestone or check point.  You can't achieve the ultimate goal or reach the final destination without completing each step before it. 

More examples of the types of goals you might set for yourself:

→Career Goals:  "I want to be the CEO of my own software company by the time I am ____years old".

→Education Goals: Education goals may or may not be part of the plan for your career goals.  "I want to hold a Ph.D. in astrophysics by the time I am _____years old".

→Experiential Goals: This may include travel, cultural, adventure, or other non-institutional learning.  "I want to tour Europe and learn about the history of my family by the time I am_____ years old"

→Relationship & Family Goals: "I want to have a family and 2 children by age_______".

→Material Goals: Many times these can be part of the plan for family or experiential goals.  "I want to purchase my first house by the age of______".  This may be a milestone goal to your family goals of children etc.

→Physical Goals: Is your health and overall well being what you want it to be?  "I want to lower my cholesterol by 10 points before my next annual exam."

→Spiritual/Faith Goals: This is a very personal and important item for many people.  If spirituality is a priority in your life, all of your goals must tie in and be consistent with your value system.