Most people like to start working hard without setting any specific goals and aims in life. If you also believe that God laughs when man plans, then you are going to realize your mistake soon. Not planning for future goals can be a disaster, and you will realize it after working a few years in any career path.

Why is Setting Goals Important?

In personal and professional life, setting goals have a major impact on your long term success and achievements. For professional satisfaction and successful personal life, define clear goals and then make a strategy to achieve those goals.

Setting long term and short term goals give you a clear roadmap to follow. This path can help you stay focused on things that matter the most. It’s not just about saying that you want to be the CEO of the company in next ten years, but the plan must talk about your next year plan, your steps and strategies to do so and your dedication towards the goals.

Difference between Long Term and Short Term Goals

The purpose of both long term and short term goals is to provide you with some viable strategy to succeed in life. The goals that are achievable in 6 months to 3 years are known as short term goals. A long term goal may require you to work for almost 3 to 5 years.

5 Ways to Set Short Term and Long Term Goals

Your hard work will pay more when you know how to work in the right direction. Here are some proven ways to set long terms and short term goals for a successful career in any field of professional life:

1.    Be Specific in Setting Goals

If your goal is to be successful, then you need to stop here. Everyone wants to be successful, so what is unique in your goal? What is success to you? Do you want to have 5 million dollars in the next few years or do you want to live in a house with a happy family? So, be specific and clarify things to micro-level.

2.    Set Measurable Goals

Make sure that your long term and short term goals can be measured on some scale. It will help you to keep track of your improvement towards the goals.

3.    Be Positive

Set a goal that encourages achieving something instead of getting rid of something. If you think that you don’t want to get stuck in the same post in the office, it is somehow a negative approach. The positive sense of doing the same can be like; I want to be a senior manager in the next three years.

4.    Be Realistic

It is something that is very critical in goal setting. If you cannot sing then, you cannot wish to win a Grammy. Make sure that your goals are related to your field.

5.    Be Flexible

Working hard is the key, but if something does not go as planned, you don’t need to lose hope. The flexibility in your goals will allow you to make alterations that can help you to choose another path to success.