It is important to understand that there are two distinct types of goals and there is an important difference in the way they are made and used. The first type of goal is the long term goal. The long term goals are your big dreams, your sustainable motivation or mission statement, if you will. Even though these are called ‘long term,’ you must put them in writing and use them in the present tense. You must only ever think of these goals as it feels to already have attained them and you must do this constantly. The other type of goal is a short term goal. Ninety days is the most common length.
This second type of goal can only reasonably be set after your subconscious mind has given you a definite idea to act upon. You need to start with some sort of basic plan of action to get started and you must track what you do. Tracking gives you an idea of what sort of results you are getting from the particular action you are taking. Only then can you begin to start setting some realistic ninety day goals.
The short term goals can provide the roadmap to get you to your bigger goals. You should set a new one every ninety days, adjusting it by using the information you get by tracking.
Again, always write down all your goals and refer to them frequently.