Long-Term Goals Vs Short-Term Goals
We all have goals. Both young and old. Gen-Zs and millennials. Even those that are not physically able.
Many have goals of buying cars, building houses, and acquiring landed properties. Others think of becoming popular, travelling outside the country, and getting their degrees, Masters, and PhDs.
Another group will have dreams of becoming the next best international best-selling author, president, writer, lawyer, etc.
Some may dwell on completing a book, getting that banging body, learning that one skill, attending an event, practising gymming/exercising for some time, etc.
All of the above are goals, but the question is, are they the same?
Your answer is No at this point, right?
Yes, you got it right there!
They are all goals, dreams, and aspirations of diverse people, but they are of different lengths. This makes the period for achieving and measuring them to be different too.
This brings us to long-term and short-term goals. They are the two types of goals.
What are Short-term Goals?
Short-term goals are small, specific goals that you can attain within a short duration, like a few days, weeks, months, or years.
Examples of Short-term goals are:
- Learning and getting certified in Virtual Assistance on Coursera and ALX Assistance within 3-6 months.
- Saving up for a year to buy provisions or pay house bills.
- Study and read five books within the next five months.
- Intern or volunteer to gain work experience in six months or a year.
- Work out, go to the gym, or practice yoga once a week for the next seven months.
- Drink enough water daily, and eat fruits and vegetables weekly for the next four months.
What are Long-term Goals?
In variance, they are those goals that take longer than a year or two to achieve. You set them, and you know that the time for their achievement may progress to 24 months, five years, or more.
Since they take an extended period, unlike short-term ones, long-term goals may be challenging and require your effort, patience, and efforts to be birthed.
Examples of Long-term goals can be;
- Earning a degree, master’s, or PhD within five years.
- Becoming a professional writer, photographer, software engineer, etc.
- Saving up to buy a house, car, or land in the next three years.
- Learn a trade or open a business that will stand against competitors.
- Write books and publish them within the next five years.
- Travel to various countries of the world.
So, now you see how short-term goals are way distinct from long-term goals.
A significant problem that prevents many people from achieving their goals is not balancing these two goals in their lives.
Some in their goal-setting plans forgot to differentiate between the two. They expect to achieve their long-term goals faster than the usual time it takes.
Instead of breaking it down into smaller, specific, and achievable goals that will not overwhelm them.
When you strike a balance between these two goals, you receive ultimate success and not the mediocre one.
5 Reasons You Should Balance Short-term Goals and Long-term Goals
Flexibility:
When you bring together the goals that will take a longer time and the ones for a shorter period in a way of balancing them, you can make changes whenever you need to.
Measurable:
If you cannot measure the progress you are making in these two types of goals, then you are losing the direction of your goals.
This makes you waste time or run around in circles. But uniting these goals makes them trackable. You review them and make adjustments.
Focus and Motivation:
With short-term goals and long-term goals going hand in hand, you develop a motivational sense not to give up on either of them.
Time Management:
You learn how to manage the time for each goal. You also start creating more time for the most critical goals, prioritizing them first.
Final Dose
All these goals are achievable once you give them patience, consistency, and flexibility and continuously work towards their realization.
Learn how to break down your goals, especially the long-term goals, in a manageable way; you make it balance that way!
How far have you gone in achieving your goals?