By Christina Lombardo Ray, PCC, CPCC 
Over the past few months you have read about creating your Vision and Life Purpose, so let’s talk about some serious goal setting. Bottom line: individuals who set goals are more successful than people who do not, but are they happy? What does goal setting mean to you? Goal setting is about making a commitment to yourself and positively impacting your present state as well as your future. Through goal setting, you can create a new reality for yourself beginning immediately. Sound enticing? Simply put, goals are commitments that focus your attention on a desired future target, but that also allow you to enhance your enjoyment of the present.
Set Serious Goals
Aligning your goals with your Vision and Life Purpose is key. So if you are serious about wanting to happily pursue and achieve a goal, be sure your goals are connected to the area in your life (or to life in general) that you would like to play a role in seeing transformed or improved (a.k.a. your Vision). Also, your goals should have a direct link to your Life Purpose. In other words, what is the specific role you want to play in helping realize your vision? This link is critical in helping you enjoy the pathway forward and to your goal success.
Vision > Life Purpose > Goals
Think back to a time when you succeeded at achieving a major goal you had set. What helped you be successful? Did you enjoy the journey as you worked toward that goal? What was it like for you when you “crossed that finish line” thus achieving your goal?
The Journey & the Destination
Research shows the connection between goal setting and success, but what about the link between happiness and achievement of our goals? Decades of research shows that the attainment of goals will not make us happier unless we understand and pursue the proper relationship between the destination and the journey. The emphasis here must not only be on goal attainment, but also on setting and pursuing goals. We must position ourselves to set goals that allow us to enjoy the ride along the way. Otherwise, when we arrive at goal attainment, our happiness can be short lived.
Enjoying the Journey is Crucial
Psychologist David Watson, author of an article “Positive Affectivity” elaborates on the importance of enjoying the journey along the way: “Researchers emphasize that it is the process of striving after goals, rather than goal attainment, that is crucial for happiness…” A perspective shift here is imperative. We can no longer think of goals as just being what we are going to achieve. We must shift our focus and think of goals as also impacting our present state. The journey in pursuing the goals must be pleasurable and meaningful to us. Linking your goals to your Vision and Life Purpose is one strategy. Think back, what goals have you set in your lifetime where the journey was evocative and fulfilling? It may likely be that without even realizing it, those goals were connected to your Life Vision and Purpose.
Personally Meaningful & Significant
Do you tend to pursue goals involving wealth, public recognition, material possessions, or popularity? If so, research shows that you would find your goal pursuit and achievement far more fulfilling if you shifted your focus and began to pursue goals that are personally meaningful to you and that involve your own personal growth, learning, and development. Focus your goals on targets that you find personally significant and enjoyable and that are aligned with the difference you want to see and be in the world.
