There is no one size fits all answer. Having the goal to be a billionaire might work for some (I really wouldn’t recommend it as it’s more of a dream than a goal anyway). For others, like Spur Planners for example, the goal is to help 1 million people improve their ability to reach their goals. The best goals are those that mean something to you, that you have a real desire to achieve and a commitment that will drive you on when times get tough. Consider the following: Passion, emotional connection, your strengths and finally, your values. Your goals need to align with these.

What Are The Best Goals To Set?

<h2>What Are Goals?</h2>In the previous article <a href="https://spurplanners.com/how-to-prioritise-your-goals/" dir="ltr">‘How To Prioritise Your Goals’</a> I shared the Spur Planner definition of a goal compared to a task or dream. Here they are again;<h3>Task</h3>This is an everyday action that you want to accomplish to make your day more bearable or to maintain a basic level of function. It might be making a healthy lunch, going to the gym or doing the washing up. Don’t get confused by having a goal to get healthy and the task of preparing a healthy lunch. The task is a low level action that contributes to the overall goal.<h3>Goal</h3>This is an ambition that you will work to make a reality. Back to our healthy eating example, you wouldn’t class making a healthy lunch as an ambition, but you would class losing 30lbs as an ambition. A goal is normally something that will take time and commitment to achieve but if something that you have an emotional attachment to achieving. The achievement of it will improve your life in a significant way and you can visualise what that will be.<h3>Dream</h3>Dreams are a form of goals, but they are goals that will never be achieved. This could be for a number of reasons such as; you see them as a nice idea but have no actual emotional attachment to their realisation, or they are vague ‘wants’ with no plan behind then to make them a reality.It is important to understand what a goal is, and what it is not. You can’t understand what are the best goals to set for you, if you don’t know what a goal is.<h2>How Should I Set Goals?</h2>There are many methods for setting goals, there is the SMART method, cascading method or OKR’s. These though, all focus on how you set up the goal you already know for success. What if you don’t know what goal(s) you should have? What if you just want to understand what are the best goals to set?The short answer to this question is that the best goals to set are those that you have a connection to. The connection will provide an emotional attachment to the achievement of that goal. In turn that will provide motivation to keep going even when achieving that goal feels difficult.The longer answer has a few more things to consider.Setting goals is a personal thing. You must have a connection to your goal to keep you motivated to achieve it. If not, you will quit on the goal.<h2>What Should I Consider When Setting Goals?</h2>If the best goals to set are those you feel a connection to, how do I know what I am connected too? Here are the things you should consider;<h3>Passion</h3>What are you passionate about? I don’t just mean interested in, but passionate about. The topic you look at often, bore your friends and family with and regularly try to improve your knowledge of? Mine is how people can improve their ability to achieve their goals. Yours may be something different. You must have a goal you are passionate about or you will give up as soon as things get hard.Did you know that more than 90% of people give up going to the gym after three months according to <a href="https://www.lifehack.org/649556/90-of-people-quit-after-3-months-of-hitting-the-gym-heres-how-to-be-the-exception#:~:text=More%20than%2090%25%20of%20these,gym%20or%20the%20gym%20itself." dir="ltr">lifehack.org</a>. Why? Because they never really wanted to go in the first place. They went because they felt they should, not because they were passionate about physical fitness. That’s why passion is so important.<h3>Emotional Connection</h3>The best goals to set will provide you with an emotional connection. You have to feel like the goal you are going to pursue is intrinsic to your own values. There has to be that deeper connection that once again, will keep you motivated.&nbsp;Keeping with the fitness example, let’s say you wanted to be able to run 10km because all your friends are doing it. This goal is not really yours, it is your friend’s goals that you are following. Once things get tough, and you are training on your own will you keep it up? Does it have the emotional connection to you and your values? Probably not.What if there was a different reason for you to run 10km. What if sadly a loved one had died of a disease and you were doing a charity run to raise funds for research or the family? That would provide a much greater emotional connection. You wouldn’t want to let the family or charity down. Now when training gets tough you have a much more emotional reason to keep going.<h3>Strengths</h3>Goals should focus on your strengths. That doesn’t mean you can’t have goals that focus on developing strengths you don’t have. It is more that building those strengths is likely to be a goal, or part of a goal, itself.The best goals to set are those that already use your strengths. If you aren’t sure what your strengths are you can use our matrix to find out <a href="https://spurplanners.com/personal-growth/" dir="ltr">here</a>. Using your strengths is important. Not only will it help you get off to a positive start but your strengths are your strengths for a reason. It is likely you will already have some connection or interest in them. It is much easier to use an existing strength to help you achieve a goal than to have the goal to develop a new strength to then use that to reach another goal.<h3>Values</h3>The final element is your values. Your goals have to align to your values for them to take root in your consciousness as something you want to achieve. If you are an altruistic person it is unlikely that material goals will fit your values, and visa versa.Closely linked to having an emotional connection, a goal aligned with your values will help create consistent positive emotions and a feeling of self worth as you progress towards your goals.<h2>OK, So What Are The Best Goals To Set Then?</h2>So what does this all mean? It means there is no one size fits all answer. Having the goal to be a billionaire might work for some (I really wouldn’t recommend it as it’s more of a dream than a goal anyway). For others, like Spur Planners for example, the goal is to help 1 million people improve their ability to reach their goals.The best goals to set are those that mean something to you, that you have a real desire to achieve and that you have the commitment to that will drive you on when times get tough.<h3>Share this with others:</h3>

Want to know what are the best goals to set? It's not what you think. Learn the considerations that really matter.

personaldevelopment

Personal Development

In the previous article <a href="https://spurplanners.com/how-to-prioritise-your-goals/">‘How To Prioritise Your Goals’ </a>I shared the Spur Planner definition of a goal compared to a task or dream. Here they are again;

This is an everyday action that you want to accomplish to make your day more bearable or to maintain a basic level of function. It might be making a healthy lunch, going to the gym or doing the washing up. Don’t get confused by having a goal to get healthy and the task of preparing a healthy lunch. The task is a low level action that contributes to the overall goal.

This is an ambition that you will work to make a reality. Back to our healthy eating example, you wouldn’t class making a healthy lunch as an ambition, but you would class losing 30lbs as an ambition. A goal is normally something that will take time and commitment to achieve but if something that you have an emotional attachment to achieving. The achievement of it will improve your life in a significant way and you can visualise what that will be.

Dreams are a form of goals, but they are goals that will never be achieved. This could be for a number of reasons such as; you see them as a nice idea but have no actual emotional attachment to their realisation, or they are vague ‘wants’ with no plan behind then to make them a reality.

It is important to understand what a goal is, and what it is not. You can’t understand what are the best goals to set for you, if you don’t know what a goal is.

There are many methods for setting goals, there is the SMART method, cascading method or OKR’s. These though, all focus on how you set up the goal you already know for success. What if you don’t know what goal(s) you should have? What if you just want to understand what are the best goals to set?

The short answer to this question is that the best goals to set are those that you have a connection to. The connection will provide an emotional attachment to the achievement of that goal. In turn that will provide motivation to keep going even when achieving that goal feels difficult.

The longer answer has a few more things to consider.

Setting goals is a personal thing. You must have a connection to your goal to keep you motivated to achieve it. If not, you will quit on the goal.

What Should I Consider When Setting Goals?

If the best goals to set are those you feel a connection to, how do I know what I am connected too? Here are the things you should consider;

What are you passionate about? I don’t just mean interested in, but passionate about. The topic you look at often, bore your friends and family with and regularly try to improve your knowledge of? Mine is how people can improve their ability to achieve their goals. Yours may be something different. You must have a goal you are passionate about or you will give up as soon as things get hard.

Did you know that more than 90% of people give up going to the gym after three months according to <a href="https://www.lifehack.org/649556/90-of-people-quit-after-3-months-of-hitting-the-gym-heres-how-to-be-the-exception#:~:text=More%20than%2090%25%20of%20these,gym%20or%20the%20gym%20itself.">lifehack.org </a>. Why? Because they never really wanted to go in the first place. They went because they felt they should, not because they were passionate about physical fitness. That’s why passion is so important.

The best goals to set will provide you with an emotional connection. You have to feel like the goal you are going to pursue is intrinsic to your own values. There has to be that deeper connection that once again, will keep you motivated.

Keeping with the fitness example, let’s say you wanted to be able to run 10km because all your friends are doing it. This goal is not really yours, it is your friend’s goals that you are following. Once things get tough, and you are training on your own will you keep it up? Does it have the emotional connection to you and your values? Probably not.

What if there was a different reason for you to run 10km. What if sadly a loved one had died of a disease and you were doing a charity run to raise funds for research or the family? That would provide a much greater emotional connection. You wouldn’t want to let the family or charity down. Now when training gets tough you have a much more emotional reason to keep going.

Goals should focus on your strengths. That doesn’t mean you can’t have goals that focus on developing strengths you don’t have. It is more that building those strengths is likely to be a goal, or part of a goal, itself.

The best goals to set are those that already use your strengths. If you aren’t sure what your strengths are you can use our matrix to find out <a href="https://spurplanners.com/personal-growth/">here </a>. Using your strengths is important. Not only will it help you get off to a positive start but your strengths are your strengths for a reason. It is likely you will already have some connection or interest in them. It is much easier to use an existing strength to help you achieve a goal than to have the goal to develop a new strength to then use that to reach another goal.

The final element is your values. Your goals have to align to your values for them to take root in your consciousness as something you want to achieve. If you are an altruistic person it is unlikely that material goals will fit your values, and visa versa.

Closely linked to having an emotional connection, a goal aligned with your values will help create consistent positive emotions and a feeling of self worth as you progress towards your goals.

OK, So What Are The Best Goals To Set Then?

So what does this all mean? It means there is no one size fits all answer. Having the goal to be a billionaire might work for some (I really wouldn’t recommend it as it’s more of a dream than a goal anyway). For others, like Spur Planners for example, the goal is to help 1 million people improve their ability to reach their goals.

The best goals to set are those that mean something to you, that you have a real desire to achieve and that you have the commitment to that will drive you on when times get tough.

What Are The Best Goals To Set - Spur Planners

What Are The Best Goals To Set?

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