Are you looking to do more with your life? Setting long-term personal goals is a pretty good way of doing that. I’ve gathered some of the personal goals I find to be the most important.
You’ll see that I didn’t include some of the goals that 99% of the population has. Goals like getting a college degree, starting a family, or buying a house because these are straightforward, and I thought there was no need to include them.
I, myself, am actively working on all of the long-term personal goals on this list but these are really just examples.
You shouldn’t move to a different country if you love living where you are, but you should visit as many countries as you can, especially if you have kids.
Seeing many different cultures and ways of living a life will build their character and make them a more complete person.
Here are some examples of long-term personal goals I find to be the most important and most fulfilling.
Retire Early
There are many reasons why you should retire early the main one being that you can better enjoy retirement when you’re still fairly young and healthy.
Do you have big plans for your retirement? Are you planning to travel the world? Do you want to go on a cruise ship? Maybe ride across the country on a motorcycle or with your family in an RV?
Another reason could be that you want to go full time volunteering in your community. Imagine how much you could do in 40 hours per week with your non-profit!
Well, guess what, by the time you get to do all of these things or even one of them, your health will probably be deteriorating already.
Long commute times, shift work, heck, even the fluorescent lights all add up to the number one proxy killer – stress.
The less stress you have in your life, the better you’re off because chronic stress is linked to the six leading causes of death: heart disease, cancer, lung ailments, accidents, cirrhosis of the liver, and suicide, according to the American Psychological Association.
Not to mention that in 20, 30, or 40 years, a lot of things can happen that can deter your chance to fulfill your retirement dreams.
The question is – how do you retire early?
Your best shot is a combination of factors:
- Invest your money
- Leverage real estate
- Leverage debt
- Save/Cut back on spending
- Make side income(s)
- Make passive income
The more streams of income you have, the more money you’ll have to invest in your retirement fund.
Or Take Mini-Retirements
What if you have a fulfilling job or a career, and you don’t want to retire early or at all? Could you still use a break longer than a few weeks to pursue other interests in your life, like travel or art or enjoying uninterrupted time with your kids?
Sure you could! It’s a concept Tim Ferriss often talks about in his books. In The 4-Hour Workweek, he explains how he actually saved $32,000 while traveling compared to “sitting on my couch watching The Simpsons in my apartment in the Bay Area”.
Most people believe you either have to have a low-stress, low-reward job and life — you’re a home-based dog-sitter with very few responsibilities, a lot of time and no income, but very little stress — or you can be an investment banker, make $500,000 to a $1,000,000 a year, and work 80 to 100 hours a week. You don’t necessarily have to choose between those two. You can get the best from both. You can mix-and-match.
Tim Ferriss via Get Rich Slowly
Mini-retirement can also be a great taster for your macro-retirement. You can explore what makes you tick and which passions would you pursue at that later stage.
So, why not enjoy a bit of life while you’re still young?
Start A Business
This is the personal goal in my opinion. You will never be truly free if you’re not financially independent and the “easiest” path to doing that is by starting your own business. I recognize that this is not for everyone, and everybody should not start a business. The amount of dedication and sweat equity will take its toll for sure.
That being said, owning your own business allows you to be more creative and express yourself. If you’ll pursue a passion of yours, the potential is limitless.
Starting a business can be a way for those who are tired of the 9-to-5 grind to leave that world and enter into a more flexible lifestyle, albeit you’ll oftentimes have to work longer hours.
Then again, if you avail of today’s modern world opportunities like automation and VAs (virtual assistants), you could work for only a few hours each day and earn the same amount of money as you would earn full-time.
There have never been more millionaires in the world, and the opportunities to make good money are endless. Read my related post: How Many Millionaires Are There In The World?
If you’d like to fulfill some of the other personal goals on this list, starting a successful business will make it so much easier.
Travel To X Countries
Traveling is high on the list for so many people, yet we all probably think we don’t travel that often. Traveling to an X amount of countries is a great personal goal and makes for a great bucket list. It is an easy and enjoyable way to broaden your horizons and see firsthand how other societies and countries out there live.
What should the X amount of countries be for you? Is it 5 countries, 10, 50, or maybe even all of them?
This obviously depends if you are a seasoned traveller already or you are only starting out. The Internet is a great resource for finding out how to set aside time for travel when you work a full-time job or tips and tricks on how to apply for visas and find affordable accommodation.
Here are some of the tips I found to be the most helpful.
1. House-Swapping
Accommodation is usually the most expensive part of any holiday and the prospect of cutting such a significant cost entirely from the holiday budget can open up so many more possibilities.
It’s simple, really, you have a house, and they have a house. You swap. Genius!
There are plenty of sites to choose from, but well-known sites include homeexchange.com, homestay.com, lovehomeswap.com, and bedycasa.com. They charge a fee to use them, of course.
2. Apply For Visas In Neighbouring Countries
It is often faster and cheaper to apply from an embassy in the neighboring country to the one you want to visit. While applying at an embassy in Europe or Northern America can take weeks or even months, this way it rarely takes longer than 1-24 hours.
3. Pack Light
If you want to save time and money, travel only with hand luggage. Not only will you be faster going in and out but also save on airline and transfer fees. The truth is, we all love to overpack, and I’m no stranger to that, but do you really need fifteen different shirts and five pants?
In today’s world, there’s a clothes shop or a boutique around every corner and you can always buy a cheap or expensive piece of clothing in case you can’t go on without one.
4. Use No-Fee Bank Cards
ATM and transaction fees can add up quickly when you’re traveling abroad. Don’t give banks your hard-earned money. Get a credit card and debit card that don’t charge a foreign transaction fee or an ATM fee.
5. Make Extra Copies Of Your Documents
Shit happens, and your passport or other documents could get stolen or lost. The one thing that is going to expedite the police report or embassy filling is having copies of your important documents.
6. Eat At Expensive Restaurants During Lunch
Lunchtime is the best time to eat at expensive restaurants as they often have lunch specials featuring the same food they would serve for dinner but at half the price.
Move To A Different Country
There are many reasons why you would want to relocate to a different country, even if you’re coming from a country that is well off; job opportunities, beautiful scenery, weather, learning a new language, escaping a newly elected president, and so on. All of these reasons are valid for you to find a home in a new and more or less different country.
For US residents, it would be much easier to emigrate to, let’s say, Canada. But should you move to a country so similar to yours? Why not move to a country a bit more different so you can explore new tastes, new cultures, and new languages?
Most of the people will move to a different country for better job and life opportunities. Many countries are crying out for skilled migrants so they can earn more money for fewer hours and have a better lifestyle.
You (and your family) will be taken out of your comfort zone, and that could really invigorate you. Kids especially adapt pretty well and make friends fast, so that shouldn’t be the least of your worries. New locations and new and exciting food choices will have you exploring for months, if not years.
Starting somewhere fresh could also help you reinvent yourself. As the old saying goes, “you can’t be a prophet in your own land“. When you’re too familiar to your local audience you’re not going to be nearly as attractive as someone unfamiliar who is from outside the immediate area.
A new job or career path might excite you and appreciate life more, especially if you hated your previous job(s).
And if things don’t work out, you’ll gain an all-important experience and perhaps a newfound confidence. It might also make you appreciate your homeland more.
Be An Asset To The Community
This personal goal isn’t sexy and won’t buy you a car or make you spend time on the beach, but there are multiple upsides to it. By helping people, animals, or even small businesses around you, you can leave a long-lasting mark and a lasting positive legacy.
Being an asset to the community can be as simple as helping animal shelter staff walk their dogs or feed and cuddle the cats. How about helping old folks do their shopping?
You don’t even have to go and do it physically every time; simply help them set up recurring weekly or monthly shopping with one of the numerous grocery delivery apps out there.
By establishing a local non-profit organization, you can impact literally thousands of people! You don’t even have to do it from scratch; open a local chapter of a known non-profit you believe in.
The benefits of volunteering can be enormous. The social contact aspect of helping and working with others can have a profound effect on your overall psychological well-being.
Nothing relieves stress better than a meaningful connection to another person. Human beings are hard-wired to give to others. The more we give, the happier we feel.
How do you get motivated to do more in life? Read our post Elon Musk’s Motivation Secret You Need To Try Today.
