Hands up if you’re trapped by society’s expectations.
You’ve gone from school to university to a full-time career without ever questioning whether that’s something you truly want.
You’ve outgrown the monotony of your daily life but stay stuck because you’re told that’s the norm.
You second-guess your dreams but stay unfulfilled for fear of getting it wrong.
Instead of creating a meaningful life, you’ve created a bog-standard living.
Rather than trusting that you’re on the right path, you can’t help but think — what if.
- What if I’d paid closer attention at school
- What if I’d studied something different at university
- What if I’d changed my job sooner
- What if I’d gone on that trip
- What if I’d created my own path and not followed others
The truth is, it’s never too late to start over.
There is nothing wrong with pressing the reset button and overhauling certain areas of your life.
Life isn’t about living the same year 75 times. (Robin Sharma). It’s about self-discovery and cultivating deep happiness and fulfilment.
So here’s your sign to recreate your vision, search for new opportunities and set fresh and exciting goals.
Here are 51 life goal ideas to consciously design the life you want to live.
The perks of setting life goals (not just short-term ones)
Setting goals is essential.
Whether they’re personal goals, work goals, health and wellness goals or money goals, when you set goals, you have something to work towards. They give you direction so you can wake up each day with intention.
But not all goals can provide you with a real purpose. And that’s where your bigger life goals come in.
Life goals are the foundation of a meaningful existence. They reflect your deepest values and long-term vision.
When you set life goals, you have a roadmap towards creating your dream life. You have an unshakable core purpose that drives you towards finding your peace and happiness.
Setting life goals (not just short-term ones) also means you get to:
- Ditch the “what ifs” and embrace the “why nots”
- Follow your own path that aligns with your long-term vision
- Wake up excited and energised for the day
- Feel accomplished and successful (whatever that looks like to you)
- Stay true to who you are and live a more authentic life
- Become the best version of yourself
- Experience a deeper sense of joy and fulfilment
- Live a life you love
How to set achievable life goals
One of the main reasons why people fail to reach their goals is that they are setting the wrong goals.
Hands up if you’ve ever fallen into the trap of working towards something you think you “should” be doing rather than what you truly want.
Because it happened to me.
A few years ago, I set the goal to pursue an MA in Psychology.
It was driven by the desire to prove my intelligence to friends and family. This was before I worked with a mindset coach to help me break through some barriers, and I still looked to others to give me validation and self-worth.
Because this goal was entirely based on how I wanted others to perceive me, not what I actually wanted, I lacked incentive. To try and create some excitement and motivation around the goal, I decided to tell my mum about it. Her response was, “Your brothers will be so proud of you.”
Ironically, it was those words that motivated me to quit the goal. I realised that being true to myself was far more important than anyone else’s validation or seal of approval.
The truth is, if a goal is not something that you truly want to achieve deep down inside, then you will struggle to reach it.
So ditch the “should” goals and set ones that are going to set your soul on fire!
Follow this 5-step framework to do just that:
- Start with why — always establish the why behind a goal
- Get clear on your core values
- Set goals that are driven by core values
- Use the SMART method
- Break down your goals into smaller monthly or weekly actions
51 life goal ideas for creating a life you love
This blog post is for inspiration only.
It’s an ideas list of goals you can work towards to start improving your current reality and design a life you love. Not a “do every single thing on this list to become your best self” type of post. So DON’T add every single goal to your bucket list.
Choose just 1-3 ideas from each area and adapt them to best suit your needs and overall vision.
I encourage you to bookmark this page so you can refer back to it whenever you need to.
Work and career
- Ask for that promotion or pay rise you’ve been putting off for a while
- Position yourself as your industry’s thought leader and become the go-to expert
- Embrace the 4-day work week and a 3-day weekend
- Negotiate a flexible work arrangement and build a healthier work-life balance
- Create a personal brand or social media presence
- Quit that toxic 9-to-5 and do something that feels good
- Start a passion project, online side hustle or business
- Apply for a new job role that allows you to be fully remote
- Propose a remote year plan to your current company and take your work abroad
- Look for jobs abroad and live in a new city for a while
- Become a digital nomad and work from anywhere
Health and well-being
- Start prioritising your mental health today by putting yourself first when making decisions
- Practice slow living and learn to be more present in your daily life
- Build a more flexible and ache-free body by creating a regular yoga, pilates or stretch routine
- Eat healthy by implementing blood sugar-balancing hacks
- Join a gym or invest in a wellness program
- Start your self-development journey and develop new skills and knowledge
- Read one non-fiction book every month and stimulate your mental space
- Make a commitment to yourself to always get 7-9 hours of sleep per night
- Break that bad habit and replace it with a healthy habit — you’ve got this
- Run a marathon in one of the major cities
Finance
- Invest in stocks, real estate or other investment assets so you’re not just relying on a salary
- Pay off all of your debt
- Save $100 per week for 1 year (what will you do with that extra $5200?)
- Don’t settle for your current salary, how can you double it? Turn that into a life goal
- Create multiple income streams
- Make $10k per month in your business
- Achieve financial freedom
- Build a meaningful side hustle that generates passive income daily
- Obtain a golden visa in a tax-free country
- Retire by 50
Purpose
- Build a business or side hustle that directly aligns with your Ikigai
- Take the time to figure out your core values and set 5 life goals that align with them
- Learn to become a better listener
- Fully embrace manifestation by making something you want to happen (don’t forget to take action, though)
- Create something just for fun
- Start a daily gratitude practice — keep it up for at least 6 months
- Lean into your Saturn Return and use it as an opportunity to glow up certain aspects of your life
- Try one new hobby every week for a year — continue the ones that you enjoy the most
- Find a mentor and allow them to guide you on your journey
- Go back to school and learn a different subject or work towards a certification
- Work with a life coach to help you get unstuck and gain clarity on what you want in life
Travel
- Book a one-way flight and plan everything while you’re on the road
- Live in a bustling capital city on the other side of the world for a few months
- Solo travel around South East Asia for 5 months
- Build a profitable side hustle to fund trips around the world
- Teach English as a Second Language in South America for 6 months
- Climb a mountain over 5000 metres
- Live in a new country for 1 year and learn the language
- Cultivate a meaningful friendship with someone who lives abroad and send regular updates
- Go on an adventure that pushes you way out of your comfort zone, like skydiving, scuba diving or a hiking trail
- Live on the beach for a month and go swimming in the sea every day
- Explore a place that is not on your travel bucket list
- Follow Elizabeth Gilbert’s footsteps and go on your own “Eat, Pray, Love” journey
Save these ideas on Pinterest for later
Final thoughts
It goes without saying that these life goals are for inspiration only.
No blogger can tell you what to do. Likewise, don’t be influenced by what the social norms say you “should” be doing.
Set goals that come from the heart and align with your core values and vision.
Use the above life goals as ideas by adding your own unique spin on them or adjusting them to better suit you and your needs.
The areas I’ve listed are also not limited to just career, health, finance, purpose and travel. I chose these 5 categories because right now, they are what are most important to me.
So if they don’t align with you, come up with your own.
You can use these journal prompts to help you get even clearer on your life goals:
- What areas do I currently value most in life?
- What does success look like to me? What do I need to achieve to feel successful?
- Where do I want to be this time next year?
- What do I actually want to achieve in the next 5 years?
- When I think of future me, what do I envision? What would set my soul on fire?
Remember, you only get one life.
Don’t waste it on pleasing others and doing what is expected of you.
Create the life YOU want to live, and don’t let anyone stand in your way.
You’ve got this,
Thalia xx
