Set Long-Term Goals

Think back to what your life was like two years ago or five years ago. What would you have done differently?

Now think ahead two years. Where would you like to be working? What do you want your life to be like in a few years? Ten years?

What choices can you make today that will make your life better in the future? Write down these choices or goals. These are your long-term goals.

Make goals that you believe you can achieve. Give yourself a set amount of time to complete each goal. Think of the people and resources you will need to achieve each goal.

Your long-term goals should cover all parts of your life -- career, education, financial, and personal. These goals can be related to each other. It's possible that you may not currently have goals for each of the areas and that's OK.

Example:

• Career: I want to work as a chef.
• Education: I want to get a degree.
• Finances: I want to have at least $2,000 in savings.
• Personal: I want to work out three times a week to stay healthy.

Use Long-Term Goals (pdf) to write down your goals.

SMART goals
When you make goals they need to be complete. This increases the chances of successfully achieving them. One way to do this is to make SMART goals.

Specific  What do I want to accomplish? Who is involved? Why do I want to achieve this goal?
Measurable  How will I measure progress toward the goal? How will I know I reached the goal?
Achievable  Is my goal too ambitious? Is it reasonable? Do I believe in my ability to reach the goal?
Realistic  Is this important in my career path? Have I accomplished something similar before?
Timed  What is the time frame for completing this goal? What can I do each day for this goal?

Try to use these guidelines when making long-term goals in the exercise which is linked above.