When I say “good” I am not referring to moral or virtuous. “Good” in this context is more related to functional. Take a look at the list below of characteristics that define a good goal.
- Specific.
- Realistic.
- Challenging.
- Measurable.
Specific
If a goal is too general it soon becomes un-realistic and non-measurable. “I want to bring about world peace” is a nice goal but it is not a good goal. It is too general, not specific enough. Start with something a bit more specific. “I want to make the local high school a safe place for learning.” This is not as grand a goal. But it is realistic and measurable.
Realistic
Make the goal something that you can actually see yourself (or anyone) accomplishing. “I want to walk on the moon bare-butt naked” is not very realistic. If the goal is too far from possible you will quickly forgive yourself from not making serious efforts and dismiss the goal.
Challenging
When considering challenge, there should be short term challenge in addition to long term challenge. I’ll give you an example. Years and years ago I set myself the goal of filling a bound notebook with zeros. In case you are wondering, I wasn’t on drugs — leastwise not at the time. The goal was specific (I knew exactly which notebook I had in mind). The goal was realistic (The notebook had 350 pages and I could easily fill three pages in a sitting.) And the goal was challenging — in the long run. It was a challenge to sit myself down a couple times a day to make zeros in this notebook. So there was a long term challenge. But, this thing became a total drag after just a few days. Then somewhere along the line I introduced a secondary goal of making the zeros the best zeros I could make. Now I had a long term challenge. But more importantly I also had a short term challenge. Each minute I worked at the notebook I was challenging myself to make the zero I was working on the best zero I could make.
I find it important to have a short term challenge as well.
Measurable
If you can’t tell whether you are accomplishing the goal then its not much of a goal. It could still be something you do. But as a goal it will suck. A goal really does imply some kind of yard stick to measure progress and success. Is it absolutely necessary? Can you have a goal that can not be measured? Yes, you can have a goal that can not be measured. This is not the Department of Fascist Oversight of Goals.
However, be aware of the fact that a goal that can be measured will just function better. Remember “good” is not a measure of moral or virtuous. “Good” in this context is a measure of functionality. There are many goals that we adopt which are not “good” goals.
Take for example the goal “To lead a virtuous life.” or “To be a good person.” As goals these fail in almost every category. However, they are goals worth having.
If you find yourself with goals that are worth having but that don’t happen to be “good” goals in the functional sense, all you need to do is make sub-goals. Make goals that serve the higher goals.