Map Out Short-Term Goals That Lead to Your Long-Term Goals

“You have to believe in the long term plan you have but you need the short term goals to motivate and inspire you.” – Roger Federer 

Most goals are comprised of many incremental steps. For example, if your goal is to be a great athlete, you might work toward this goal by setting smaller sub-goals or proximal goals like improving your exercise habit, eating more nutrient-rich foods to support your body as it heals from training, and picking milestones by which you can track your progress. 

Research has shown that structuring a goal into a set of subgoals reduces the difficulty of the pursuit, enhances your perception of how attainable your goal is, and provides positive reinforcement which facilitates continued motivation and persistence (Latham & Seijts, 1999). In other words, setting and realizing proximal goals can facilitate a growth mindset in which you believe that you’re capable of shaping your life as you want it. In addition to supporting this sense of self-efficacy, setting proximal goals is essential for successful goal pursuit for many other reasons, including the following: 

● Setting proximal goals helps reduce feelings of overwhelm when it comes to accomplishing the goal. 

● Proximal goals provide you with a place to start. One of the most common barriers to achieving lasting change is getting started. 

● Achieving proximal goals can provide clear markers of progress toward the overarching goal. Failing to achieve a proximal goal can also help you determine when you need to change your strategy. 

● Proximal goals reduce the risk of damage to your self-concept which can come up when you compare where you are now with where you want to be. 

Decades of research suggest that quality sub-goals have the following 5 features:

1. Specificity – Your goal is clearly defined. As mentioned earlier, successfully realizing your goals requires that you know what you are striving for. 

2. Measurability – It is possible to track your progress toward and completion of the goal quantitatively. Without the ability to measure progress in some fashion, it is easier to become overwhelmed or discouraged and decide to abandon your goal. 

3. Attainability – Your goal is something that is achievable within the context of your life. For example, setting a goal of learning a new language would require effort and dedication, but is certainly attainable over time. Setting a goal of learning 10 new languages, on the other hand, is significantly less attainable (especially if you plan to do literally anything else with your time). Determining whether or not a goal is attainable can be tricky for anyone who doesn’t already have a growth-oriented mindset because, if you believe that your capabilities are fixed, it’s easy to decide that you are not capable of attaining a goal that is fully within reach. 

4. Relevance – The proximal goal is an instrumental step in achieving the larger goal. Working toward a proximal goal should matter in the long run, otherwise, it will cost you time and energy without much reward. 

5. Time limits – Your goal includes an ‘achieve by’ date. Setting a time limit on proximal goals is a highly effective way to increase motivation and commitment and to keep track of progress toward your larger goal.