Setting your goals should be too hard but I understand if you didn’t set any until now. And there’s no problem too. It’s not like, if you don’t set your goals before 2024 starts, you can’t set them at all.
For last year, I set some goals that I didn’t achieve and I achieved some things that had no goal attached to them. Looking back at 2023, this is the kind of flexibility I’m looking for this year.
What you’ll see next is a list of 64 goals that other people (including me) achieved in 2023, therefore you know it’s doable.
The purpose of this list is to inspire you in case you didn’t set any goals for 2024.
64 goals to inspire you to set your goals for 2024
Some of them are random and others may have nothing to do with you or what you from 2024. But there’s a chance you’ll find something interesting inside the list that you also want to do this year.
If not, maybe it’s the pat on the back you need to authentically think of your goals and set something.
Here it goes:
- Lose weight
- Start therapy
- Learn how to deal with intrusive thoughts to the point they won’t bother you anymore
- Put yourself out there and socialize with people
- Try some “wild” sex/intimate activities with your partner
- Get promoted at work
- Learn a new language
- Learn how to tell selfish people to fuck off
- Become a parent
- Get your first job (while still in college)
- Stay sober from alcohol
- Set better boundaries
- Save money
- Get a new hobby
- Travel to another country and/or continent
- Learn how to manage your time better
- Find a new skincare routine
- Learn how to let go of people without feeling bad about it
- Buy your first car
- Take care of your physical health
- Go to your first concert
- Run 10 kilometers
- Change your clothing style
- Get a job that you love
- Start making small investments
- Finish your studies
- Find a way to manage your anxiety and/or depression
- Get married
- Accept your imperfections
- Forgive more of others’ mistakes
- Make new friends
- Help your parents have a better life
- Donate money, time, or stuff you don’t need
- Get certified in something related to your job
- Move out and find a better place to live
- Do more spontaneous activities
- Decide what you want for your future
- Replace personal care and household cleaning products with all-natural, non-toxic versions
- Start meditating with/without guidance
- Learn to love yourself
- Start weightlifting
- Start journaling
- Spend less time on social media
- Eat healthier
- Survive one more year (in case you’re dealing with suicidal thoughts)
- Leave a toxic job/relationship
- Learn to cook the food you love eating
- Stand up for yourself
- Get your medical check-ins
- Walk the Camino de Santiago
- Find your first mentor
- Lose your virginity
- Express gratitude regularly
- Read more books
- Become more connected to your emotions
- Give yourself the space to unlearn the things that are holding you back
- Delete the social media accounts you don’t use anymore
- Start volunteering
- Start a business
- Become aware of your strengths and focus on them (instead of your weaknesses)
- Ask for help when you need it
- Pay your loans
- Learn something you consider difficult
- Learn to dance
So, what did you pick?
Take a short break from reading this article and write down your goals. It’s important.
How to set your goals in a SMART way
If you look at the previous list of goals, you’ll realize they aren’t SMART goals.
For a goal to be smart, it needs to be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-bound.
But don’t worry, I’ll help you make your goal smart.
Let’s say, one of your goals for 2024 is to start a business.
First, let’s take each letter from the SMART acronym and see how you can make your goal smart.
You can use the following guidance for whatever goals you set yourself.
Specific
1. What are the key details of your goal?
To properly answer this question, you could:
- Break down the goal into specific actions;
- Identify the who, what, where, when, and why of the goal.
2. Can you communicate the goal clearly to others?
To properly answer this question, you could:
- Check if someone (you don’t know) could understand your goal without confusion;
- Make sure that people can communicate your goal with you – it’s a sign that they understand your goal.
3. Does your goal address a specific need or problem?
To properly answer this question, you could:
- Make sure there’s enough clarity around the problem or need that the goal is solving;
- Make sure the goal is addressing a particular need or problem.
Example of a Specific goal for Starting a Business:
“Opening a small coffee shop that specializes in artisanal blends and locally sourced pastries.”
Measurable
1. What are the quantitative or qualitative indicators of progress?
To properly answer this question, you could:
- Define specific milestones that represent your progress;
- Determine how you track and measure your progress.
2. How will you know when the goal is achieved?
To properly answer this question, you could:
- Define the elements that will indicate that you have achieved your goal;
- Define the last step that you have to make to consider the goal achieved.
3. Can you track and communicate effectively your progress?
To properly answer this question, you could:
- Define ways in which you communicate updates on your progress;
- Make sure that you can monitor your progress in tangible ways.
Example of a Measurable goal for Starting a Business:
“Making $10.000 in the first six months after opening the business.”
Achievable
1. What resources do you need to achieve your goal?
To properly answer this question, you could:
- Identify the resources, skills, or support you need for your goal achievement;
- Understand if you have these resources at your disposal and, if not, identify ways to acquire them.
2. Do you have realistic expectations?
To properly answer this question, you could:
- Evaluate your current commitments and skills;
- Make sure that your goal is challenging but also that you have the capacity to achieve it.
3. What are the potential obstacles?
To properly answer this question, you could:
- Anticipate potential setbacks;
- Create a plan for overcoming obstacles.
Example of an Achievable goal for Starting a Business:
“Starting a small consulting business leveraging my expertise in [current field that I know well], which requires minimal initial investment and can be managed while keeping my full-time job.”
Realistic
1. In what way your goal is aligned with your values and priorities?
To properly answer this question, you could:
- Understand the personal & professional importance of your goal;
- Make sure that the goal is relevant to how you want to live your life.
2. How does your goal contribute to your long-term vision?
To properly answer this question, you could:
- Connect your goal to your vision;
- Make sure that, by achieving your goal, you get closer to your vision.
3. After you achieve your goal, will you get tangible benefits?
To properly answer this question, you could:
- Identify the positive outcomes that are connected to the achievement of your goal;
- Make sure that your goal is worth pursuing.
Example of a Realistic goal for Starting a Business:
“Starting an e-commerce business, selling eco-friendly products, aligning with my passion for environmental conservation.”
Time-bound
1. Having in mind the purpose of your goal, is the deadline realistic?
To properly answer this question, you could:
- Understand if the timeframe available is reasonable to achieve your goal at a comfortable pace;
- Avoid setting deadlines that are too tight or too far.
2. What are the intermediate deadlines in your timeframe?
To properly answer this question, you could:
- Break your goal down into smaller tasks, with individual deadlines;
- Make sure that you can measure your progress for each of your smaller tasks.
Example of a Time-bound goal for Starting a Business:
“Launching an online handmade jewelry store in the next three months, with the first sale targeted in the first month of activity.”
My goals for 2024 and what I have achieved in 2023
Here are some of the things I did in 2023:
- Finished Camino de Santiago from Lisbon to Santiago de Compostela by walking over 750 km in 26 days;
- Got my ICF accreditation as an executive coach;
- Found a business partner;
- Lost 10 kilograms;
- Cut some unhealthy relationships out of my life and made space and energy for new ones;
- Started meditating and exercising 5-6 days/week (45 min/session for meditation and 20 min/session for exercise).
Here is what I set myself for 2024:
- Visit Japan for one month, from 24 April to 23 May;
- Visit Italy for one week;
- Start a podcast in February and publish one episode/week;
- Continue meditating and doing exercises 5 days/week;
- Keeping my weight between 70 and 75 kilograms;
- (maybe) Visit Stockholm for a week;
- (maybe) Train and run a (half) marathon;
- Improve my coaching practice;
- Read over 10 books and studies on optimism.
Maybe there’s more than that but that’s what I want right now from 2024.
Just as last year, maybe some of these goals will be forgotten and I’ll add new ones. I think this kind of flexibility is healthy.
With love and optimism,
David
