101 Inspiring Life Goal Examples and How to Set Them for Yourself

Most people have dreams, yet only a small minority pursue them.

If you want to realize yours, the first step you have to take is to transform your dreams into life goals.

Setting life goals means you make the conscious decision to take action on your dreams and desires. It’s the moment where everything becomes more concrete and actionable.

In this article, you will learn how to set powerful life goals. And I also included 101 different life goal examples to inspire you to set your own.

So let’s dive in!

What are life goals?

Life goals are the type of goals that reflect everything you want to achieve in life. Think about any of the dreams and desires that you have right now. 

This could be a big and bold goal, like building a million-dollar business or traveling around the world for a couple of years. But it could also be something much smaller, like visiting the pyramids or starting a freelancing business.

Also, consider other types of audacious goals. Consider writing a personal mission statement that outlines the change you seek to make in the world. But also think about a personal vision statement that defines who you want to become.

The most important goals are those that matter most to you.

Why set life goals?

Setting a life goal transforms your dream into an objective. More importantly, during the goal-setting process, you make the decision that you want to realize your dreams.

When you do this, an inner fire will ignite that fuels you with motivation.

Life goals can bring tremendous amounts of purpose to one’s life. It colors your journey through life and makes your struggles meaningful. 

Because the reality of life is this: progress towards meaningful goals equals happiness. 

Of course, just setting life goals won’t change all of that. But it is a powerful first step to take.

101 Life goal ideas

Before we get into the steps of setting life goals, let’s take a look at some examples first. 

Notice how these goals focus on many different areas of life. And also, how some of them are outcome goals where others are process-oriented goals.

1. Speak three languages fluently (try out Rocket Language for free).
2. Travel to all contents.
3. Earn 100K a year.
4. Walk 200 thousand miles.
5. Climb the Seven Summits.
6. Climb three of the Seven Summits.
7. Become a millionaire.
8. Buy a sports car.
9. Build your dream house.
10. Buy a vacation house.
11. Run a profitable small business.
12. Be able to work from anywhere in the world.
13. Enjoy a 3-month holiday each year.
14. Enjoy a thousand massages.
15. Become the CEO of my company.
16. Become the best [insert job] in my company.
17. Help at least a thousand others in meaningful ways.
18. Hike the Jordan Trail (or any other Thru-hiking trial).
19. Pass the US Delta Force strengths test.
20. Finish The Badwater Ultramarathon.
21. Finish a marathon in under 3 hours.
22. Stretch every morning.
23. Win the local triathlon.
24. Exercise every day.
25. Get out of debt.
26. Retire by your fifties.
27. Have six streams of income.
28. Pay off someone else’s debt.
29. Go on at least one date every month.
30. Read 10 different books about personal finance.
31. Give more than a million dollars away to charities.
32. Grow your business to a 10 million dollar evaluation.
33. Become a thought leader in your space.
34. Spend a full year doing charity work.
35. Impact millions of people.
36. Build a great team.
37. Start a freelancing business.
38. Run a remote small business.
39. Develop and sell a product.
40. Develop and sell a software service.
41. Get a million subscribers on YouTube.
42. Become a professional public speaker.
43. Get 10 million people to listen to your podcast.
44. Get a thousand people to sign up for your newsletter.
45. Live in 3 different cities for at least 6 months.
46. Become a scuba dive instructor.
47. Hike through the Himalayas.
48. Take a year-long road trip.
49. Live abroad for a year.
50. Visit all US states.
51. Go on a cruise.
52. Learn to surf.
53. Learn yoga.
54. Go bungee jumping.
55. Learn how to fly a helicopter.
56. Learn how to ride a horse.
57. Learn how to snowboard.
58. Visit the Olympic games.
59. Participate in the Olympic games.
60. Take your partner on a day trip once a year.
61. See the seven world wonders.
62. Cook a meal of every culture.
63. Learn how to play guitar.
64. Write and publish a book.
65. Take a photography course.
66. Post 10.000 pictures on Instagram.
67. Participate in a Humanity project.
68. Cut out unhealthy foods for a year.
69. Become a vegetarian.
70. Give up sugar.
71. Eat vegan for a year.
72. Try the ketogenic diet.
73. Don’t drink alcohol for a year.
74. Reach the perfect work/life balance.
75. Read 52 books in a year.
76. Learn how to code.
77. Learn a martial art.
78. Study something new.
79. Keep a journal for a year.
80. Meditate for 5.000 hours.
81. Explore a new sport.
82. Explore a new career.
83. Start a side-hustle.
84. Become a volunteer somewhere.
85. Throw a surprise party for your friends.
86. Take your partner on a surprise holiday.
87. Start a new tradition together with someone.
88. Create a bucket list (with your second half).
89. Take care of an animal.
90. Learn to dance.
91. Learn to sing.
92. Set a Guinness record.
93. Go on a wildlife safari.
94. Live outdoors for a month.
95. Spend a day alone every month.
96. Dine-in a Michelin star restaurant every year.
97. Host a bed-and-breakfast
98. Find the perfect wine.
99. Create a personal mission.
100. Go on a long hike by yourself.
101. Try an extreme sport.

How to set your life goal

Perhaps you already have some clear dreams and desires. If not, I hope that the examples inspired you. Either way, the next steps will help you to get on your way:

1. What is important to you? Life goals only make sense if they are true and inspiring to you. What are your wildest dreams and desires?
2. Turn your dream into a goal. Define what you need to do to achieve your dreams. 
3. Make the goal SMART. Learn what SMART means if you are not familiar with it yet.
4. Write down your goal. This study shows that you increase your chance by 33% to achieve your goal if you write it down. Here are the best goal-setting planners.
5. Share it. Another study found that most people are more committed when they share their goals. Share it with your spouse or with me on Twitter. 

You have just written your first life goal – good stuff! 

This goal may seem a bit scary and too far away. That’s okay. Let’s see the next steps on how to transform your life goals into an actionable plan.

6. Break the goal up. Doing this creates a clearer plan of action. Start with long-term goals, then short-term goals, and finally micro-goals.
7. Take action. Take action on your micro-goals. Set new ones. And keep taking action.
8. Review your goals often. Execution is the name of the game. But you still need to zoom out sometimes to ensure that you are still on track.
9. Take more action. Did I already mention this is the name of the game?

There you have it, a simple 9-step approach to set your life goals and start pursuing them.

Life goal example: Climbing Mount Everest

Say you dream about climbing a mountain. You set your ultimate goal to climb the world’s highest peak, Mount Everest. 

Now you want to make it SMART. 

• Is it Specific? Yes – though you can specify it further. For example, do you want to do it without or without an oxygen tank? 
• Is it Measurable? Yes, it’s a simple outcome goal. But to track progress, you will have to set smaller goals. Alternatively, you can change this goal and make it about climbing the 7 summits. 
• Is it Achievable? Yes, if you don’t have medical issues that hold you back.
• Is it Relevant? Assuming it is your dream – hack yes!
• Is it Timely? Not yet. Considering it’s best achievable when you’re physically fit, you want to achieve this goal before you turn 50 years old.

Say this becomes your life goal: To climb Mount Everest without extra oxygen before the end of 2045.

Since Mount Everest is one of the 7 summits, your long-term goal could be to climb the first 6 summits without extra oxygen before the end of 2040.

Now, it’s time to break these goals up further. Which summit will you do first? By when? And what smaller mountains do you want to conquer in preparation? 

Break it up further and further, until you have a tiny goal this week that you can start working on. Like setting up a training schedule or hiking a small hill in the area.

Hopefully, this gives you an idea of the bigger picture.

Closing thoughts: what is your goal in life?

When you set a life goal of your own, you might not be happy with it at first. But remember that you don’t need perfect goals straight away.

Perfecting your goals is a process. 

A process that takes time and experience. Which comes fastest through action. 

In other words, just set some goals and start moving towards them.

And if you don’t know what to do, why not try it for a month? A 30-day challenge is one of my favorite ways to explore new interests.

Go out there and set your first life goal today.

Do you want an organized approach to set life goals and make sure you achieve them too? Then you want to look into my review of Goals on Track. It’s the best goal-setting software for individuals.

For more cutting edge strategies, read the best books about goal-setting. And if you need someone to hold you accountable, share it on Twitter and tag me there.

And if you need more guidance along the way, make sure to get more practical tips and interesting insights into your inbox by signing up below.

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• The Power of Long-Term Goals (With Examples)