Personal objectives are goals or desires that people set for themselves. They are challenges that people pose because they consider that, in some way, their life will improve if they achieve them. For instance: lose weight, improve posture, and learn to speak English.
Each objective has specific characteristics:
- Area.
They can be associated with different aspects of life, such as health, education, interpersonal relationships, or work. - Term.
The objectives can be short, medium, or long-term. For example, learning a language is a long-term goal, while passing a subject is a medium-term goal. Short-term goals can be as simple as confessing your feelings to someone else, but they are still a form of self-improvement. Some long-term goals require other short-term or medium-term goals. For example, if the goal is to run a marathon in six months, each month, there will be a goal to improve endurance and speed. - Abstraction.
An objective can be more or less abstract. For example, “to be happy” is an abstract goal. On the other hand, “every day to do something that I like” is a more specific objective. Abstract goals are more difficult to accomplish as we do not give ourselves instructions on how to “be happy,” “be smart,” or “be independent.” However, these abstract objectives can serve as a guide to determining other more concrete objectives. For example, if the goal of a person living with their parents is “to be independent,” that goal may inspire other goals such as “getting a job,” “learning to cook,” “learning to pay taxes,” and so on. - Realism.
To be achieved, the objectives must be realistic concerning the resources available to each person and time.
Advantages of setting goals
- Facilitates the design of a strategy: Small daily actions can help to reach a goal once the decision has been made.
- It is an important motivation.
- Give meaning to perseverance and sacrifice in cases where it is necessary.
- Organize our actions and priorities.
The only downsides of setting targets occur when they are not well planned. For example, if we set unrealistic goals, we will likely be unable to meet them and suffer the frustration of failure. On the other hand, personal improvement will not be possible if we set goals that do not respond to our wishes.
Examples of personal goals
- Finding love: People who have been alone for long periods decide to find a partner. It may be objected that one cannot fall in love simply by will, that is to say, that the goal is unrealistic. However, having an open attitude to meeting people gives the possibility of love appearing. In other words, it is an objective that can guide certain attitudes, but that can bring frustrations if it is not taken into account that the result also depends on chance.
- Lose weight.
- Lower blood sugar levels.
- Lower cholesterol.
- Improve posture.
- Improve health: This objective and the previous ones refer to different ways to benefit the body itself and thus increase well-being. Each objective has its method, which must be consulted with a doctor.
- Learn to speak English.
- Improve French pronunciation.
- Learn to play the piano.
- Learn to dance salsa.
- Cook like a pro.
- Start an acting course.
- Have good results in a domain or on some subjects.
- Graduate.
- Finish education: This goal and the previous ones refer to personal growth. The motivation to set these goals can be out of curiosity, for the pleasure of acquiring new knowledge, or because they can benefit us in work objectives. A good performance in the educational field helps us learn and increases our self-esteem.
- Have a better relationship with neighbors.
- See friends more often.
- Make new friends.
- Not be shy.
- Be kinder to parents: These goals refer to interpersonal relationships. It is difficult to check if they were fulfilled, but having the intention to fulfill them can help change our attitude.
- Save a certain amount of money: Usually, this goal is a means to achieve something else, such as taking a trip or buying something expensive.
- Travel to an unknown country: This objective often requires obtaining the financial means to achieve it, but other times it simply requires a little organization and determination.
- Receive a promotion: This goal does not depend only on us but on who makes the decisions in the workplace. However, employees generally know what attitudes they must take to motivate a decision in their favor.
- Move out
- Refurbish the house: Our environment affects our quality of life, so these last two objectives can help improve it.