Goals are critical to improving your life. When done right, they boost your performance, get you focused and help you take your life to a better place; a higher level. However, when you set goals incorrectly, you are setting yourself up for stress, pain and misery. Badly set goals really do cause a great deal of suffering in life. You can end up pushing yourself too far, too fast, too soon. It is easy to get caught up chasing a goal which is painful to achieve and brings you little or no reward when you do eventually achieve it. There are different types of goals and each type of goal has a different purpose and a different impact upon your life. It is important to understand each type of goal as they will, one way or another, influence your success, happiness and wellbeing.
Goals are critical to improving your life. When done right, they boost your performance, get you focused and help you take your life to a better place; a higher level. However, when you set goals incorrectly, you are setting yourself up for stress, pain and misery. Badly set goals really do cause a great deal of suffering in life. You can end up pushing yourself too far, too fast, too soon. It is easy to get caught up chasing a goal which is painful to achieve and brings you little or no reward when you do eventually achieve it. There are different types of goals and each type of goal has a different purpose and a different impact upon your life. It is important to understand each type of goal as they will, one way or another, influence your success, happiness and wellbeing.
Setting the right types of goals is an important part of the Excellence Lifestyle. Learn more about the Excellence Lifestyle with my FREE eBook - Pursuing Excellence.
Get Your FREE Copy Here
4 Types of goals
4 Types of goals
There are numerous different types of goals but most of your goals will be able to fit into one of the following 4 types of goals.
There are numerous different types of goals but most of your goals will be able to fit into one of the follow 4 types of goals.
1. Being’ goals
1. Being’ goals
These almost don’t seem like goals because it is easy to think that they don’t require any effort. A being goal is all about the person you want to be and the qualities and values you want to put out in the world.
As Gandhi said:
These almost don’t seem like goals because it is easy to think that they don’t require any effort. A being goal is all about the person you want to be and the qualities and values you want to put out in the world.
As Gandhi said:
‘Be the change you wish to see in the world.’
‘Be the change you wish to see in the world.’
We spend a lot of time complaining about the state of the world i.e. what is wrong, what is lacking and what we would like to see more of. This is a reactionary form of living You are waiting to see what happens and then you are are basing your opinions and reactions upon that.
When you set ‘Being’ goals, you are proactive. You determine the type of person you wish to be and which values you want to live by. You then live by the values and standards you have set for yourself. You hope to make the world a little bit better by virtue of your behaviour but you are not attached to that. Your focus is solely on what you can control; not on what you get back in return.
Resource: Values Based Living
We spend a lot of time complaining about the state of the world i.e. what is wrong, what is lacking and what we would like to see more of. This a reactionary form of living You are waiting to see what happens and then you are are basing your opinions and reactions upon that.
When you set ‘Being’ goals, you are proactive. You determine the type of person you wish to be and which values you want to live by. You then live by the values and standards you have set for yourself. You hope to make the world a little bit better by virtue of your behaviour but you are not attached to that. Your focus is solely on what you can control; not on what you get back in return.
Resource: Values Based Living
2. Doing’ goals
2. Doing’ goals
It is again worth noting that this type of goal focuses on what you can control. You think about what you are going to do in various areas of your life, how you are going to do it and why you are going to do it. But you do not focus on what you are going to get back in return. You understand that you do not have full control over what others decide to give you for your efforts. You just want to do what is important to you.
To be clear, if what you want to do is offer a paid service/product, you should certainly determine the price you are going to charge for what you offer. But the price you receive is only a by-product of what you do. Think of it this way; if nobody was willing to pay for it, would you still want to do it?
This is living with purpose. You know what you want to do with your life and how you want to use your actions to make the world a little more positive. While you would certainly like to make a living from what you do; when you are passionate about it, you will find a way to do it, pay check or not.
Too often, people are afraid to do the things they really love. They don’t want to put their heart into the things they do because they are afraid of getting hurt. They are afraid of rejection and disappointment. But it is only when put your heart into doing something you love that you can experience real joy and success. If you have ever achieved a goal and found that you were not as happy as you thought you would be, it is likely that your goal was not about doing but was about having or achieving.
There is nothing wrong with wanting to have or achieve but when it comes before being and doing, you end up wanting to have or achieve many things which add no real value to your life. Start with being then doing before you move onto what you want to achieve and have.
Related article: 16 Signs that you are living purposefully
It is again worth noting that this type of goal focuses on what you can control. You think about what you are going to do in various areas of your life, how you are going to do it and why you are going to do it. But you do not focus on what you are going to get back in return. You understand that you do not have full control over what others decide to give you for your efforts. You just want to do what is important to you.
To be clear, if what you want to do is offer a paid service/product, you should certainly determine the price you are going to charge for what you offer. But the price you receive is only a by-product of what you do. Think of it this way; if nobody was willing to pay for it, would you still want to do it?
This is living with purpose. You know what you want to do with your life and how you want to use your actions to make the world a little more positive. While you would certainly like to make a living from what you do; when you are passionate about it, you will find a way to do it, pay check or not.
Too often, people are afraid to do the things they really love. They don’t want to put their heart into the things they do because they are afraid of getting hurt. They are afraid of rejection and disappointment. But it is only when put your heart into doing something you love that you can experience real joy and success. If you have ever achieved a goal and found that you were not as happy as you thought you would be, it is likely that your goal was not about doing but was about having or achieving.
There is nothing wrong with wanting to have or achieve but when it comes before being and doing, you end up wanting to have or achieve what you really want in life. Start with being then doing before you move onto what you want to achieve and have.
Related article: 16 Signs that you are living purposefully
Some goals help you. Some goals hinder you. You must understand the difference.
Click to Tweet
3. ‘Achieving’ goals
3. ‘Achieving’ goals
Achieving goals can be really confusing because it is very easy to think that they are entirely within your control when they are not. Despite your best efforts, you still need some outside help to get it done e.g. luck or assistance from one or more people. The following are examples of achievement goals and how they depend on outside help:
- Make a million dollars – somebody else has to pay you for something and you can’t force people to give you money
Make a million dollars – somebody else has to pay your for something and you can’t produce customers
- Lose 100lbs – you can diet and exercise but you need your body to cooperate and it needs to be possible for you to lose that weight
Lose 100lbs – you can diet and exercise but you need your body to cooperate and it needs to be possible for you to lose that weight
- Earn your degree
– You can study hard and work hard but you still need good teachers and the right exam papers
Earn your degree – You can study hard and work hard but you still need good teachers the right exam papers
- Be the number 1 in your profession – As hard as you work and as good as you become, you can’t control others and you can’t guarantee that there won’t be anyone better at what you do
Be the number 1 in your profession – As hard as you work and as good as you become, you can’t control others and you can’t guarantee that there won’t be anyone better at what you do
- Marry a specific person – They have their own free will and you can’t make them want to marry you
Marry a specific person – They have their own free will and you can’t make them want to marry you
As you can see from the examples above, some achievement goals are a lot closer to being within your control than others. But it is important that you are realistic about what is within your control and what is not.
When it comes to achievement goals, it is certainly not harmful to set yourself a target but you need to focus on what you can control and be willing to make adjustments where necessary. It is easy to become attached to the goal and that will only bring pain and suffering.
Related article: How being attached to a goal causes pain and suffering
Setting the right types of goals is an important part of the Excellence Lifestyle. Learn more about the Excellence Lifestyle with my FREE eBook - Pursuing Excellence.
Get Your FREE Copy Here
As you can see from the examples above, some achievement goals are a lot closer to being within your control than others. But it is important that you are realistic about what is within your control and what is not.
When it comes to achievement goals, it is certainly not harmful to set yourself a target but you need to focus on what you can control and be willing to make adjustments where necessary. It is easy to become attached to the goal and that will only bring pain and suffering.
Related article: How being attached to a goal causes pain and suffering.
4. Having’ goals
Having’ goals
The modern world seems to be driven by consumerism. We are marketed to constantly and told that one item will make us happier in one way or another. Of course, the one item that will make us happier just happens to be the one item that is being advertised to us at that particular time. Isn’t that a wonderful coincidence?
I don’t care what the item that you think you want is; I am confident that it won’t revolutionise your life and it won’t bring you the lasting happiness that you might think it will. Unfortunately, ‘having’ goals i.e. possessions tend to be the place where people start with setting goals. The first time that I sat down to set goals, the first goal I came up with was to have a helicopter. It’s nearly 20 years later and I haven’t even learned to drive (I don’t feel the need to) so, why the hell did I think I needed a helicopter?
Many people never even consider any of the other types of goals. But ‘having’ goals are the least important for your success, happiness and wellbeing. If you start with ‘having’ goals, you use up your precious resources (e.g. time, money, energy, attention) on things that don’t really make a difference to your life. You then have less resources for the things that do really matter e.g. being who you want to be; doing what you really want to do.
There is nothing wrong with wanting a few of the finer things in life but you must realise that your happiness will not come from possessions. They should not be prioritised over the goals that really will allow you to be happy i.e. ‘being’. ’doing’ and ‘achieving’.
Resource: Learn to set effective goals with the Ultimate Guide to Goal Setting.
The modern world seems to be driven by consumerism. We are marketed to constantly and told that one item will make us happier in one way or another. Of course, the one item that will make us happier just happens to be the one item that is being advertised to us at that particular time. Isn’t that a wonderful coincidence?
I don’t care what the item that you think you want is; I am confident that it won’t revolutionise your life and it won’t bring you the lasting happiness that you might think it will. Unfortunately, ‘having’ goals i.e. possessions tend to be the place where people start with setting goals. The first time that I sat down to set goals, the first goal I came up with was to have a helicopter. It’s nearly 20 years later and I haven’t even learned to drive (I don’t feel the need to) so, why the hell did I think I needed a helicopter.
Many people never even consider any of the other types of goals. But ‘having’ goals are the least important for your success, happiness and wellbeing. If you start with ‘having’ goals, you use up your precious resources (e.g. time, money, energy, attention) on things that don’t really make a difference to your life. You then have less resources for the things that do really matter e.g. being who you want to be; doing what you really want to do.
There is nothing wrong with wanting a few of the finer things in life but you must realise that your happiness will not come from possessions. They should not be prioritised over the goals that really will allow you to be happy i.e. ‘being’. ’doing’ and ‘having’.
Resource: Learn to set effective goals with the Ultimate Guide to Goal Setting.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Goals are critical to your happiness. They will help you move your forward, if you set them correctly. They will allow you to experience success, happiness and wellbeing, if you set your goals correctly. However, if you get your goal setting wrong, you will find that your goals cause you stress, pain and suffering. They will make you more miserable than ever. In this article, I have covered 4 different types of goals, 2 of which are within your control and, 2 of which are outside of your control. It is not a coincidence that the goals which lie within your control are the ones which will give you the most happiness, success and allow you to live your best life. It is important that you understand the different types of goals and how they can help or hinder you. When you understand the different types of goals, you can choose and pursue the right goals for you.
Goals are critical to your happiness. They will help you move your forward, if you set them correctly They will allow you to experience success, happiness and wellbeing, if you set your goals correctly. However, if you get your goal setting wrong, you will find that your goals cause you stress, pain and suffering. They will make you more miserable than ever. In this article, I have covered 4 different types of goals, 2 of which are within your control and, 2 of which are outside of your control. It is not coincidence that the goals which lie within your control are the ones which will give you the most happiness, success and allow you to live your best life. It is important that you understand the different types of goals and how they can help or hinder you. When you understand the different types of goals, you can choose and pursue the right goals for you.
