Have your goals expanded over time?

It’s interesting when I look at goals I’ve set in the past.

It's great to see so many ticked off but more interesting is how conservative they look in retrospect.

Each time I progress a little further my vision of what's possible expands.

In my experience, with time, “impossible” becomes “inevitable”.

I came across a file from 3rd August 2013 in which I wrote the following goals:

By 2025 (age 40):

• $3,000,000 property portfolio (scaled to inflation)
• $50,000 recurring income (all sources)

I thought those were incredibly lofty at the time.

Two years on, I've added a zero to each–and then some.

Who knows what I'll have my sights set on in 2017.

Over to you. Have your goals expanded over time? How so?

 

No.

I'm not going to move the goal posts until I've achieved my aim (hopefully well before its deadline). Otherwise, what's the point of making plans in the first place anyway?

 

Ours definitely change all the time.

Not only do people change all the time, but as we move forward our visible universe of possibilities expands as well.

It's hard to plan for something when you don't know what you don't know yet

Besides, it's the process of moving forward that's satisfying, not the day you hit the goal. Others may disagree..

 

I looked back at some goals from a while ago, such as a 1 mil net worth goal set about 10 years ago, and have crushed those now.
Haven't got any current written goals at the moment, but something like 1 mill passive income by 50, (10 years from now), seems about the same standard as the previous 1 mil net goal.
A push for me would be 500k passive in 2 years from now, although we maybe do that now if converting all existing assets to commercial property, but these things still take time to organise.
Who knows, so much can happen in a year or three.
Targets could be exceed by 2,3,5 10 times, it's so unpredictable looking multiple years ahead.
Opportunities change all the time which can't always be forseen.

 

I don't use numerical goals for this reason. If you reach it, then what happens? Had the same issue with lifting weights, set a goal for 200kg reached it. Then what, set another for 225kg?

Chasing a number doesn't work for me, but I understand it does for some.

 

I recently achieved my major ten year goals

Now, I'm happy just to chill a little bit. I'm really not sure what's next, except I've decided to start piano from scratch and try and sit all the exams. Not always financial

 

I have found that there is a strong correlation with what I thought was possible for me to achieve and then going on to achieve similar. As my thoughts/beliefs expanded over time, it directly influenced the goals I subsequently set for myself and achieved. I now have set some goals that 10 years ago I would of thought I was delusional. But as my beliefs of what is possible for myself changed over time, I have achieved some goals that I never dreamt were remotely possible. I now firmly believe that achievement is directly dependent on what we believe is possible or not.

 

I chase dreams and visions , not numbers.
I find that these are much more motivational than numbers.
You will know when you have achieved it. Its like meeting a beautiful woman- you just know and don't need to quantify it [ height, weight etc]
To each their own however..i know people who have to quantify with numbers else its meaningless and discarded!!

 

That's interesting. I find if I don't quantitfy, I don't measure.

 

How about quantifying using time ? It's actually time that most of us are trying to gain, not $$$.

The goal is usually to achieve comfortable financial freedom by age N.... that buys you 100-N years of free time. As others have said above... what's the purpose of adding more $$$ to the goal ? Is it a p****** contest ? What will you do with the excess ? The law of diminishing happiness must kick in somewhere. And when you hit 40 or 50, you realise that your body really is going to get old & crap & you've already used up half your allotted time. This 100-N yrs of free time can be used to aim for real goals, not merely expanding $$$ goals.

When you reach the financial freedom goal, set some completely different non-monetary goals - start with the end in mind, then work backwards to get the right balance between $$$, brains, time, attitude, hard work, etc

So No, they haven't expanded. They changed completely.

 

@keithj, I agree completely. While having $500k/year would be nice, I really got into this to have more freedom and time. So if I don't want to work, I don't work. And the same goes for investing as well, once I've reached my goal I can decide whether I want to continue investing or not. If it changes from a joy to a chore, I'll throw in the towel on that as well and do whatever I really want to be doing.
That's why my passive income goal is a "modest" $100k in 2010 dollars. That's enough money for us to live on and even include one overseas holiday a year.
Plus if you keep moving the goal posts whenever you start to see them on the horizon, as is human nature, then you'll never actually accomplish your goals.

So in summary, I know that I'll have a passive income of $100k, but I don't know whether it will be any more than that. Why push yourself for something that you don't need?

 

I think if you look closely at what you already have and your future goals, you'll find you don't really need most of it, they are wants. So the question then becomes, "How much should I want?", and imo its a philosophical question, no right or wrong answer.

"Every life form seems to strive to its maximum except human beings. How tall will a tree grow? As tall as it possibly can. Human beings, on the other hand, have been given the dignity of choice. You can choose to be all or you can choose to be less." -- Jim Rohn

 

You could go even more philosophical and argue that needs don't exist at all.

For me it's the amount of money that I need to get everything that I want in life.

 

I agree with @keithj but along the way does it kick in that you realise that you've found something that your good at and keep wanting more, an addiction or perhaps the hunger to want more (no necessarily greed or financial) and doesn't need to be a bladder relieving contest but personal drive for and going bigger. Like surfing on a motorbike!

 

I think aiming to continually increase ones capacity should always be a goal.
Continuing to move forward is a sign of growth in life.

To just stop and regress once a goal is reached would be an anticlimax.

So what if you keep increasing the goals and never reach them.
At least it gives you something to aim at and you will end up somewhere in the middle of greatness.

 

I think i've mentioned this one to you @Steven Ryan, but a personal goal of mine is to double my income every year till i'm 30. It sounds unrealistic, but as long as i continue to believe that its a do-able pursuit, it works for me. Plus its more about the behaviours having a moving goal incentivises, rather than actually hitting the target.

I've had static goals in the past, e.g. earn x amount, build x amount, score this or that. But i like having a goal that demands i continue to stretch and improve. It just means i need to keep focus, as it requires continual growth, planning and building. I also like keeping my goal income driven, not wealth driven (at this point of income life cycle). For me, my income goals measure my value to the marketplace, and doubling my income is a soft indication of doubling my value.

 

This sums it up for me. My goals aren't so much income driven, although increased income is a side-effect of meeting my goals. For eg, one of my goals has always been to work for myself, and I've been directly and indirectly working toward that. Now, it's achieved and it's grown from 'working for myself' into 'running a successful business'.

I had always wanted to do a subdivision, which I achieved by buying a property that had the sub-div half done; and renovate houses, which I did remotely via tradespeople earlier on, and have now done with myself onsite. Next I want to do the whole subdiv myself and design the development.

I think of it in terms of projects - complete one, and use the experience to make the next one slightly - or dramatically - bigger and better. Keeps life fun and interesting, and profitable as a lucky side effect.

 

How old are you now @Redom?

 

25.

Great post @Jess Peletier, my partner thinks of it that way and i definitely appreciate her approach.

I'm goal oriented, so i segment my life/goals up into a few key parts (health, relationships/family, work/career). It's a little 'single minded', as there's so much more to enjoy/appreciate, but i don't mind focussing down for a relatively little period. The busier i get, the more i need to 'structure' my life and prioritise. Can be a little rigid, but it's all designed around whats most important and leaving aside some of the secondary stuff (i'd absolutely love to shoot under par in a round of golf, climb everest, etc, etc, but those may have to wait!).

 

Similar to @Redom This is very much how I see it. Trying to increase my value to the market place. The more valuable I can make myself to the marketplace, the more financially wealthy i can become imo. We don't get paid for the time, only the value.