Long-Term and a Short-Term Life Goal (Essay Sample)

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Difference between a Long-Term and a Short-Term Life Goal
A goal can be defined as the “desired result, aim or object of an individual’s ambition” (Locke 12). Goals are instrumental in driving people to achieve what they want in life. People have varying desires in life. For instance, some people desire to have healthy relationships, others desire to develop their careers to greater heights, while others desire to accumulate material possessions. Accordingly, even though the journey to a successful life begins with identifying the end-goal, there is no basic definition of a successful life. This is because people’s definitions of the term “success” differ depending on their specific end-goals. The process of goal setting transforms people’s desires into realities within properly defined time frames. Consequently, life goals may be classified as either short-term or long term-goals.
Short-term and long-term goals differ depending on the duration of time required to accomplish them. Goals which are accomplished quickly are referred to as short-term goals while those that take quite a substantial amount of time to be accomplished are referred to as long-term goals. Short-term goals are goals that can be achieved in the near future. In particular, they are considered to be goals that can be accomplished within a period of twelve months. On the other hand, long-term goals are goals that require a lot of planning and normally take a long time to be achieved. In particular, they are considered to be goals that take at least twelve months to be achieved.
Some examples of short-term goals include taking a class, writing a resume and buying a television set. On the other hand, long-term goals may include saving for retirement, setting up a personal business and graduating from college. The former may be achieved within a period of twelve months while the latter can take several years to achieve. Since long-term goals may take several years to be accomplished, they require a lot of planning and focus towards attaining them. Some useful tips for setting long-term goals include working backwards, projecting where one wants to be, say, in five years’ time, recording the specific activities to be undertaken towards achieving the stipulated goals, say, monthly and adjusting the goals frequently, if required, in order to stay on course.
An important point to note is that prioritization of goals, whether short-term or long-term, is very crucial. Prioritizing refers to the “process of arranging goals in their order of importance and deciding on which one to deal with first” (Rouillard 22). It is also important to note that lack ...