Long-term And Short-term Life Goals

Running head: LONG-TERM AND SHORT-TERM LIFE GOALS 1

The Difference Between a Long-Term and a Short-Term Life Goal

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LONG-TERM AND SHORT-TERM LIFE GOALS 2

The Difference Between a Long-Term and a Short-Term Life Goal

Life goals are the aspirations or the things that people work to achieve or fulfil. They

could also be termed as the observable or measurable outcomes of specific plans of action

(Hayes, 2017). As such a life goal is an objective in whose achievement requires planning and

execution. A life goal could be either long-term or short-term. The main difference between a

long-term and a short-term life goal is the time it takes for it to be fulfilled or achieved. The

amount of resources required also aids in differentiating the two. Additionally, short term goals

could be enhancements for long-term goals while the converse is not applicable. This works

argues that apart from the time taken in the realization of a goal, there are no distinctive features

that isolate a long-term goal from a short-term goal.

To begin with, the main difference between a long-term goal and a short-term goal is the

time required to accomplish it. A short-term goal requires less time such as days or weeks

(Hayes, 2017). On the other hand, a long-term goal may require months or years (Hayes, 2017).

For instance, a person who sets a goal to become a professional photographer may set a long-

term goal of owning a renowned photo studio and authoring a magazine that features their works

in five years. Similarly, they may purpose to buy a camera in six months and this would be their

short-term goal. Although time sets out as a factor that distinguishes a short-term goal from a

long-term goal, there is no clear line that is drawn to determine where a short-term goal ends for

a long-term goal to begin. They are intertwined and are characterized by a continuous process.

Secondly, a long-term life goal is differentiated from a short-term life goal by the amount

of resources required. Resources are classified into finances, time and the amount of work

dissipated (Nair, 2013). In this light, a long-term goal requires more resources to be

accomplished than a short-term goal would. For instance, when someone sets the life goal of

LONG-TERM AND SHORT-TERM LIFE GOALS 3

obtaining the highest level of education in their field, it requires a lot of input in terms of the

finances, time and amount of work. In contrast, a short-term goal such as passing in a semester’s

coursework requires little resources. All the same, the amount of resources required are not

definitive of whether a goal is long-term or short term. I some cases short-term goals may require

more resources than their resultant long-term goals. For example, business firms may require a

lot of resources during startups than they would when they are fully operational and working on

the profits earned.

Thirdly, it is notable that short-term life goals could work towards the achievement of

long-term goals while the latter would not make up the earlier. A long-term goal could be

achieved by breaking it down into smaller short-terms goals (Olsen & Hansen, 2015). For

instance, the long-term goal of owning a company could be divided into short-term phases such

as conducting research, drawing a business plan, registration and setting up. However, several

long-term goals cannot be combined to make up a short-term goal. All the same, it is arguable

that a long-term goal could stand on its own without requiring to be broken down into short-term

goals. In this case, it is does not hold that short-term goals always make up long-term goals.

In conclusion, the amount of time required to achieve a life goal is the best way to tell

whether it is long-term or short-term. The amount of resources required is also another measure

to determine whether goals are either long-term or short term. Lastly, the determination that a

goal leads to the achievement of a larger goal makes it short-term. However, these arguments

have loopholes. As such, it is agreeable that drawing the line between a long-term and a short-

term life goal is not easy.

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References

Hayes, A. (2017). My life goals journal. Ireland: Gill Books.

Nair, K. S. (2013). Life goals: the concept and its relevance to rehabilitation. Clinical

Rehabilitation, 17(2), 192-202.

Olsen, J. B., & Hansen, C. D. (2015). The transition from youth to adulthood and the importance

of hope and life goals. In The 14th European Congress of Psychology-Milan, Italy 7-10

July 2015.

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