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"You are never too old to set a new goal or to dream a new dream." -CS Lewis 

"A goal should scare you a little and excite you a lot." -Joe Vitale 

 "Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible." -Tony Robbins 

 "If you want to be happy, set a goal that commands your thoughts, liberates your energy and inspires your hopes." -Andrew Carnegie 

 "What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals." -Henry David Thoreau 

 Respectfully, (and I can speak only for myself) the cultural push to set and pursue goals has been one of the most destructive forces in my life. This is speaking as someone who has accomplished a great many goals and some of them very impressive. I lost 75 lbs in about 25 weeks (and gained 100 in the next 25). I swam a mile in a lake (and didn't do any serious swimming for about 15 years). 

 The problem with setting goals is that it is a concept predicated on a single moment. It is wonderful to set a destination, but life doesn't stop so if you go somewhere, you'd better be sure that's where you want to BE. Life goes on. 

 My advice is to guide your life by where you want to spend your life. Losing weight is a terrible goal because you starve yourself and sweat and suffer in order to reach your goal weight and then... what next? Do you WANT to live a life full of sweat and starvation? Instead decide where you want to BE. I love to play soccer and I want to play a little every week. I don't really like to run, but I'm ok with an occasional morning run if it means I can play soccer. And I really like ice cream, but I can live without it in order to play more soccer. 

 This is living a life of tradeoffs based entirely on what you want to be right now. And if you change your mind, there should not be guilt. You are supposed to evolve the things that you want out of life. This is not to advocate short-sightedness. I hope that relieving yourself from the burden of trying to GET somewhere will give you more time and energy to truly improve the place that you are right now. 

Suggested Authors: 

David Allen 

Scott Adams 

Seth Godin