Life Goals – Turning Your Dreams Into an Exceptional Life and Legacy (Part IV)

by

by Rob Leachman

from the “Leading a Goal-Driven Life” Series

-Part IV-

This Series

“I don’t want to do a vision board,” I said to myself as I heard the assignment, my mind wandering to collages and other artsy projects I considered rather inane.

My wife, Bev, and I were in the last weeks of a “prosperity” course being offered at the church we were attending at the time. The facilitator of the course was a minister with whom we had established a connection, and like us, she viewed “prosperity” very broadly. To Rev. Heidi, prosperity transcended money and other more traditional perspectives of wealth. To her, and us, the term referred to the richness of life, the satisfaction that each individual found in that life, and the overall happiness that resulted. We found the course to be both interesting and beneficial.

But a vision board?

Of course, being the rule follower that I have been for the over six decades of my life, I completed the assignment. And being the Type A person that I have always been, I  approached the project thoughtfully and seriously. The vision board was to serve as a visual representation of what we each wanted our lives to look like in our remaining years. I was 49 years old at the time, hopefully had decades of life still ahead of me, and was approaching a major life transition in the relatively near future. In two years, I was scheduled to retire from my career as a school district superintendent, qualifying for a life-long pension that would provide me with the flexibility to do as much, or as little, as I wanted.

This was in 2007, a time when we still had print newspapers and magazines in our house. So, as I pondered what I hoped to yet accomplish in my life, I found digital representations of each activity that I could cut from magazines and paste on my vision board. In other words, I gave the assignment much more thought and effort than I might have predicted when I first learned of it. And though I can’t honestly suggest that the vision board project directly manifested any activity or accomplishment on my part, I can state that much of what I placed on that board came to fruition. As the statisticians might suggest, though there was not necessarily a “causal” relationship between the vision board and how my life would unfold, there was definitively a “correlative” one.

Now over fifteen years later, I still have that vision board rolled up and stashed in the back of a closet. I’ve kept it all these years, through multiple reorganizations of our home and an interstate move, not because it has such sentimental value, or because I’m a hoarder, or because I’m still hoping the various activities depicted on the board will finally come to fruition. No, I’ve kept it because of the amazing degree to which those activities have already become reality.

I included a photo of the Grand Canyon because it had been a longtime dream of mine to complete a rim-to-rim hike of that incredible chasm; Bev and I did that in 2017. I included a photo of an individual teaching a college class; two years after creating this vision board, I began a multi-year career as a university instructor and administrator, a job that became a highlight of my professional life. I included a copy of a book because I hoped to become a published author; I published my first book in 2022 and other writing projects are in developmental stages. I included a photo of a cruise ship because at that time we had never experienced a cruise and hoped to do so; we have completed multiple cruises in recent years. I included photos of New York City because we hoped to travel there and to other locations; we have visited New York numerous times. At the center of the vision board, I placed a photo of our family, believing that my wife and two children, and their families, needed to serve as the foundation for everything we did and anything we accomplished, We recently moved to the Chicago suburbs and now live near our son and daughter, their spouses, and our two grandchildren. More than ever since our children left our home as adults, family is at the center of our lives, just as had been depicted on that vision board.

Rob’s Vision Board – 2007

Amazingly, or perhaps not so unexpectedly, virtually every activity I suggested over a decade-and-a-half ago that I wanted to accomplish or experience has become a reality.

My purpose here is not to extol the virtues of creating a vision board, though I can attest to the power of that practice. Rather, I believe that a vision board is simply a visual representation of a practice I began many years ago, the creation of a list of life goals, statements of what I want to accomplish before my time on earth comes to an end. Just like daily and yearly goals, life goals on a much broader scale and with a longer timeline allow us to thoughtfully consider and then bring our focus toward completing the activities we deem most important in our lives. Or as Jack Canfield, the author best known for the Chicken Soup for the Soul series, has written, “A life goal is a signpost that points you in the direction of your dreams.”

So, over thirty years ago, I first developed a set of life goals, a listing of aspirations I have periodically reviewed, occasionally revised, and thoughtfully considered regularly. By the time I put these goal statements in writing, I had incorporated a regular practice of listing daily goals and had started to identify the major tasks or accomplishments I hoped to complete in a given year. It made sense, then, to identify those broader, more foundational goals (i.e. life goals) that would help guide the development of my yearly goals, which would help to inform my daily goals. In other words, at least some of my daily goals should support the yearly goals I had identified. Similarly, at least some of the yearly goals should be related to the life goals I had identified.

(Clarification: Some might suggest, accurately, that in a perfect world, the first step in this process should be to identify life goals, and then establish yearly goals, and only then start to incorporate daily goals into the process. That is a very valid point. In reality, though, at the time I began this process, I was not living in a perfect world, and I was a school administrator trying to keep my head above water as I attempted to increase my focus on activities that had long-term benefits for the school I was leading, as well as for me personally. From a practical perspective, I believe an individual starting to implement this system should begin the process by implementing whichever aspect of the system [daily goals, yearly goals, or life goals] she or he believes would have the most powerful and beneficial impact on personal and career effectiveness. At the time, I was so swamped with day-to-day minutia that had I started with trying to identify the broad life goals that should have the greatest impact on my life and career, I might never have made it to the next level. Once all three levels are implemented, however, each should be supportive of the other two.)

The purpose of life goals is to provide focus and direction toward accomplishing major activities you deem to be most significant and important in your life. They are designed to be aspirational, meaning they are activities you would not typically complete in the normal unfolding of your life. In other words, they push you to bolder and more challenging accomplishments. They contribute to our purpose, become a part of our legacy, and are often a manifestation of our dreams. They require planning, and preparation, and often require years to accomplish.

How to Establish the Initial List of Life Goals

I first identified my list of life goals decades ago, and as a result, I honestly don’t recall the steps I followed in making that list, though I suspect it was not unlike the process I followed in establishing yearly goals. For those just starting that process, I suggest the following steps:

Step 1 – Reflective Consideration of What You Want to Accomplish in Life

This sounds more impressive than it is, and many of us regularly engage in this sort of thinking. I suggest you set aside some quiet, reflective time to consider possible answers to the following question: What are the major accomplishments I want to complete during this life? Most people have pondered versions of this question while driving, or walking, or mindlessly watching TV, or doing any of the myriad of activities during which the mind can wander. At this stage, you should just let your mind flow and jot down on a pad of paper whatever comes to mind. Nothing at this stage is too outlandish, and you can later eliminate those items that are undoable or, upon further thought, you decide are not sufficiently important.

These should be tasks, projects, or activities that push you, that the completion of which would make you proud, and that you would need to work hard to accomplish. These will be legacy accomplishments, and as such, this is not the time for the common or mundane.

To assist in the identification of these major goals, the following possible categories and examples of related goals may provide some guidance:

Career Goals

  • Attain a management-level position in your chosen field.
  • Become self-employed through your own successful business.

Educational Goals

  • Complete a master’s degree in your chosen field.
  • Complete coursework to become a master sommelier, or master plumber, or master whatever in your chosen field.

Personal Development Goals

  • Learn to speak a second language.
  • Write and publish a book.

Financial Goals

  • Amass $1,000,000 (or whatever you deem appropriate) in savings.
  • Purchase your own home, or vacation home, or rental property.

Fitness/Well-Being Goals

  • Maintain weight under 180 pounds for a year.
  • Run a half-marathon.

Travel Goals

  • Visit New York City, or Paris, or Machu Pichu, or the South Pole, or whatever location interests you.
  • Climb to the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro.

As you can imagine, the boldness of a life goal is relative; what is “bold” for one person may be “mundane” for another. As an example, for an individual who has been a dedicated fitness runner all her life, running a marathon may not be aspirational. For this individual, completing an ultramarathon may be a more appropriate and challenging life goal. Conversely, for an individual who has been sedentary for most of her adult life, completing a three-mile run might represent a huge accomplishment.

Step 2 – Review Draft Goals to Ensure They are Doable, Aspirational, and Sufficiently Important

Once you have completed your freeform list of possible goals, the next suggested step is to consider whether each draft goal is doable, aspirational, and sufficiently important. There is no optimal number of life goals, though too many might diminish your focus and the significance of any individual goal. But you want to ensure that any goal you ultimately include is something you can reasonably accomplish. As an example, I am intrigued by Mt. Everest and the climbers who reach this highest point in the world. But even though doing so would be amazing, I know I will never climb this mountain and don’t have any interest in risking my life to do so, and as such, including it as a life goal would be meaningless. Additionally, the inclusion of undoable or unreasonable goals diminishes the validity and significance of the other goals.

Similarly, the goals you ultimately include should be aspirational, or challenging and difficult to reach. As an example, most of us would benefit from losing five pounds. But barring other medical conditions, virtually everyone who needs to lose weight could lose such a relatively small number of pounds. As a result, while very healthy, losing five pounds would be less than aspirational. Michelangelo famously stated, “The greater danger for most of us isn’t that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it.” With aspirational life goals, we should aim high.

Finally, each of the goals you ultimately select should be sufficiently important to be included on your list. What meets this requirement will vary from person to person, but these life goals need to be bold and perhaps legacy-building. The reaching of these major goals needs to be impactful and a source of great pride; the inclusion of lesser goals simply dilutes the power of the entire process.

Though this process needs to meet your particular needs, if a draft goal is not doable, aspirational, or of sufficient importance, I suggest that it not be included in your final list.

Step 3 – Finalize Initial List of Life Goals

I refer to this as the “initial list of life goals” because whatever results from this process will be a dynamic and ever-changing document, one that is constantly reviewed, likely added to, and possibly eliminated from.

I suggest aiming for a list of ten to fifteen goals. The number of goals you include is a personal decision, but a critical one. A list with too many goals, say twenty-five or thirty, may detract from the focus needed to reach challenging milestones. Conversely, too few goals, say two or three, may eventually lead to some frustration. This whole process is guided by human nature and personal motivation. We are inspired by our own successes, and the feelings of pride and satisfaction that accompany meeting a major life goal can serve to spur us forward to work on other, possibly even bigger goals. A particularly small number of life goals simply restricts the opportunity to experience that success, as we may go years without reaching any of the few goals we have established.

After you have weeded out the draft goals that are not doable, not aspirational, and not sufficiently important, I suggest that for each of the remaining ones, you honestly consider whether that goal represents something you truly want to devote considerable time, effort, focus, and resources toward completing. If it is, then include it on your list.

For each goal that you decide to include, write it out as clearly and specifically as you can. The key is for the goal to be written in a manner that you fully understand, and that can guide your future efforts. Many goals are binary in nature, such as “complete a marathon” or “earn a master’s degree,” meaning you have either reached them or you have not. Others can be a bit more nebulous, leaving them open to interpretation. Goals like “become a better human being” or “become more spiritually active,” while incredibly noble and worthy of our efforts, are rather challenging to define. I would suggest that you develop goals that allow you to reasonably and objectively determine whether you have completed them. Becoming a better human being might encompass actual behaviors that could be more objectively measured. For example, you might include something like, “log 1,000 hours of volunteer service” or “donate 5% of income to charitable organizations for five years.” While completing these goals won’t necessarily make someone a “better human being,” they potentially represent mileposts in that process. The key is for your goals to be clear enough to guide your future behavior.

Once you have identified your initial list of life goals, you should then transcribe them in a format that is easily and permanently available and that allows for future revision. If you use a planner program or app (or a tangible planner notebook of some sort), this would be an appropriate location for storing your list of life goals. Regardless, I would suggest that you create a saved document on your computer or tablet that includes your list of life goals, with storage both on your device and in the cloud. This is an important, long-term document, and you want to ensure you never lose it.

Some might suggest that to be most effective, these life goals should be written as “S.M.A.R.T. Goals” (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-Bounded). In completing this process for myself, I have tried to address the first four SMART goal components, but have not typically included a timeline for their completion. If you believe such time targets or deadlines would assist you in reaching your goals, then by all means include them. I, however, have viewed the process as much more informal.

SMART Goal Structure

Similarly, others suggest developing detailed action plans for the completion of each life goal. If you work best with such thorough written planning, then you may find this to be beneficial. While reaching most of these big goals requires many steps, I never committed time to formal, written planning, which would have required devoting time to writing out a formal plan that I would have preferred to devote to actually reaching the goal. Again, it is a matter of personal preference.

Whether you share this list of life goals with other people, such as family members and friends, is also a personal decision. I view my list of life goals to be a personal document, and as such, I have not shared its contents with anyone. However, some experts suggest sharing your goals with others as a means of increasing accountability. Like so much with this process, if you believe you would benefit from sharing this list with others, you should do so. Remember, though, that any satisfaction you might receive from others knowing that you want to, for example, complete a marathon will pale in comparison with the pride you will feel and the emotional high you will experience when you actually cross the finish line at the end of those 26.2 miles.

Once you have finalized your initial listing of life goals, you need to start consciously working toward reaching them. It’s almost as simple as that.

Step 4 – Periodically Review Life Goals and Revise as Needed

To be impactful, life goals must be ever-present and up-to-date; this is a very dynamic process. I strongly recommend that you revisit your goals multiple times each year. Every few months, at least two or three times annually, pull out your list of life goals and read through them. The key is to have committed to these major tasks and projects in writing, and regular reviews ensure that they remain a part of your consciousness. These reviews serve as reminders of what you wish to accomplish in the coming years.

As we get older, our interests and ambitions evolve, and, naturally, our life goals will change as well. At least once each year, but more often if needed and desired, it is advisable to consider any new goals you wish to add to the list. As an example, once you have completed a bachelor’s degree and started your career in your chosen field, you may decide you would like to continue your education. As such, it might be appropriate to add to your list of life goals, “Complete master’s degree.” Or if you begin to take bicycle rides on the weekends, you may decide you want to work toward completing a significant riding milestone. As an example, it would be appropriate to then add to your list, “Complete a century ride,” which is a one-hundred-mile ride completed in one day.

Similarly, as you complete one goal but still feel the need or inkling to continue that achievement path, it may be natural to add a goal that builds upon another you have already completed. Based on a previous example, once you have completed a master’s degree program but feel a desire and/or need to continue your education in that field, it may be logical to add a goal, “Complete doctoral degree.”

As with creating the initial list of life goals, adding to that list is a purely personal endeavor, completed by you and for you. But as your interests, ambitions, and abilities change, identifying other tasks and projects you want to complete before you pass on is both natural and beneficial. If it is something you want to work toward, and it is doable, aspirational, and sufficiently important, add it to your list.

Conversely, there are times when you may want to remove items from your list of life goals. Interests evolve, career trajectories are altered, and life circumstances change. In an example from above, an individual who moves from a career in which advanced education is valued to self-employment in which such coursework has no relevance might naturally remove “Complete master’s degree” from his life goal list. Or maybe not, if the attainment of such a degree represents an intrinsic desire that transcends career requirements.

As another example, an individual who at a younger age was fascinated with exotic animals like elephants, lions, tigers, etc. might yearn to go on an African safari, naturally including it as a life goal. But over time, this person’s interests might change, and going on a safari may no longer be of interest. What had earlier been a very appropriate life goal is no longer relevant, and as such its elimination would be similarly appropriate.

Sometimes life circumstances create the need to remove a goal from the list. Take for example a fitness runner who wanted to push herself and included “Complete a marathon” as a life goal. Over time, though, this individual developed a medical condition that made running nearly impossible. As such, it would be reasonable to eliminate the marathon goal from her list. If she was a particularly driven person, though, she might replace this goal with another equally ambitious fitness-related goal her condition would not prevent her from completing.

Just as the initial selection of life goals is a purely personal process, so too is the decision to eliminate a goal from the list. I would, however, strongly avoid eliminating a goal strictly because it would be difficult to accomplish. These goals should be aspirational, meaning activities that push us beyond our comfort level, that will take considerable time and preparation, and that are hard. If an activity still interests you, that it is challenging is, from my perspective, more of a reason to keep it than to eliminate it.

Particularly as these goals represent big, lifelong accomplishments, a source of great satisfaction is denoting a goal as having been completed. Using an earlier example, after you “complete a marathon,” it would be appropriate to access your list of life goals and mark it “Completed.” Early in my experience with setting and monitoring life goals, I started the practice of removing completed goals from the list. In time, I came to regret this practice and wish my dynamic list of goals included both those completed and those still in progress. Just as with my list of yearly goals, I now mark each goal I have reached as “Completed.” That way, I not only have a visual representation of what I still need to work on, but also a listing of what I have already accomplished. Over time, that list of completed goals can become lengthy and can serve as a powerful motivational tool, particularly when you may be struggling to reach some of your loftier goals.

A few questions naturally arise from this discussion of life goals. First, is this process of setting life goals related to the law of attraction? Not necessarily, though it certainly could be. The “law of attraction” is a New Thought concept suggesting that we attract, or will experience, what we put our thoughts and energy toward. More specifically, it suggests that our thoughts and energy work to manifest our experiences. In other words, positive thoughts and energy bring forth positive outcomes and, conversely, negative thoughts and energy bring forth negative outcomes in our life.

“The Secret”

I believe the law of attraction, most famously made popular in the movie and book entitled The Secret, can have a powerful impact on our lives. However, the life goals process I have followed and described here is based more on the power of focus and attention. Stated simply, if we thoughtfully establish a set of life goals and review them regularly, they will remain in our consciousness, and if they are important to us, we will make progress toward their completion. Energy toward the completion of these major activities may help us to complete them, though certainly not without a great deal of hard work and diligence.

Another common question involves, Is the list of life goals the same as a “bucket list”? Not exactly, though there can be great similarities. A bucket list typically includes items individuals want to complete before they pass on, just like the list of life goals I have described. But bucket list goals tend to be more recreational, with a focus on fun things to do and places to visit. Such items often require simply deciding to go somewhere or do something and may not require much planning or preparation. Items on a list of life goals may certainly include such activities, but generally also include professional, educational, and personal development goals, important activities that are challenging and that often provide more satisfaction than fun in their completion.

Finally, some may ask, Is there an age when it’s no longer appropriate to maintain and pursue a list of life goals? The author C. S. Lewis wrote, “You are never too old to set a new goal or to dream a new dream.” This is one of the most personal questions related to this topic, but my answer would be, “I hope not?” As I write this, I am 65 years old and still working to mark more items on my list of life goals as completed. It’s possible that at some point if I live long enough, I’ll no longer have the ability or inclination to pursue major life accomplishments. But again, I hope such a time is well into the future.

Life goals, just like daily and yearly goals, are a matter of the purpose and meaning of one’s life. With something to strive toward, we have a reason to get out of bed each day, remain physically and mentally active, and continue moving forward. Personally, I hope my striving days never end.

Personal Impact of Life Goal-Setting Process

I first established a set of life goals over three decades ago, and that list remains dynamic and in place to this day. I don’t profess to be an exceptionally successful person or atypical in any way. And whatever I have accomplished, I can’t say I would not have done so even without completing this process. But as I look back on the life goals I have established and most of the major accomplishments in my life, the congruence of the two lists is profound and likely too great to ignore. Though I certainly can’t prove a causal relationship between what I have accomplished and the life goal-setting process I have followed, I am convinced that much of the former would not have occurred had I not completed the latter.

Beginning rim-to-rim hike of the Grand Canyon, 2015

The following are just a few of the life goals I have successfully pursued over the years:

  • Complete a doctoral degree – I completed my doctoral studies in 1999.
  • Complete a marathon – My wife and I reached this goal in 1999.
  • Hike across the Grand Canyon – We completed this trek in 2015.
  • Teach at the university level – I first reached this goal in 1998 and then taught graduate courses for several years after concluding my career in K-12 education.
  • Complete a cross-country bicycle ride – We completed this challenge in 2017, and in the process, reached another life goal (completing a “century” ride).
Completion of cross-country bicycle ride, 2017

Can I say definitively that, had I not included each of these items on my list of life goals, I would not still have completed them? No, but in my mind, my list of major accomplishments would have been far shorter had I not done so. Committing myself to the completion of these items, and countless others, by simply placing them on a list and then regularly pulling out that list and reviewing it, I maintained far better focus on each activity.

Still, there remain numerous life goals I am still working on. As an example, years ago I committed to running at least three miles in each of the fifty states. As age and injury forced an end to my time as a runner, I amended that goal to “running, walking, or hiking at least three miles in each state.” (I’m currently at thirty-eight states and counting). Some time ago, I included as a life goal becoming fluent in a second language; like others, that goal remains a work in progress.

My point is, I’m 65 as I write this, and I’m still working to reach some significant life goals; as I’ve suggested, I hope I never stop striving.

Conclusion

In this series of articles detailing “A Goal-Driven Life,” I have described the process whereby I established and followed daily, yearly, and life goals, and the impact this simple process has had on my life. Of the three aspects of this process, the establishment of life goals is no doubt the most esoteric and nebulous. Though anyone can implement this process in any way they please, I advocate no detailed action plans, no accountability structure, and no timelines. I believe, as reinforced by decades of personal experience, that by thoughtfully identifying activities that are doable, aspirational, and sufficiently important to you, that you sincerely want to complete, you are committing yourself to work toward their completion. And then by regularly reviewing the list, denoted finished activities as “completed,” and revising or adding to the list as appropriate, you are keeping this list of your most important goals foremost in your consciousness. If they are valued by you, and if you generally have high expectations for your life, you will systematically make progress toward their completion. I have found it to be a recipe for a richer, more successful life. I invite you to have a similar experience.

Copyright 2023 by Rob Leachman – All Rights Reserved

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