We all have big dreams. Maybe you want to run a huge company. Maybe you want to be completely debt-free. Or maybe you just want to be the kind of person who is fit and healthy.
But big dreams can feel heavy. When you look at where you are right now and where you want to go, the gap can feel impossible to close. You get stuck in the daily grind. You answer emails, you run errands, and you put out fires. Suddenly, months have gone by, and that big dream has not moved an inch.
This happens because we mix up our timelines. We try to sprint a marathon.
To win at this game, you need to understand the two main types of goals. You have long-term goals and short-term goals. They are different beasts. They need different tools. Understanding how long these goals should really be is the first step to actually reaching them.
Think of it like a road trip. Your long-term goal is the destination on the map. Your short-term goals are the gas stations and rest stops along the way. You need both to get where you are going.
How Long Are Long-Term Goals?
A long-term goal is your vision. It is the “North Star” that guides your ship. It gives your life direction and purpose. When people talk about long-term goals, you will often hear them say a goal takes “12 months or more.”
I am going to stop you right there.
A year is a good start, but in my experience, 12 months is often way too short. If you want to build something real, you need to think bigger. You need to think longer.
Why You Should Plan for a Decade
I believe a true long-term goal should span 5 to 10 years.
Why so long? Because great things take time to build. Most people overestimate what they can do in a year, but they vastly underestimate what they can do in ten years.
Let me give you a personal example. One of my major long-term goals is to help 1,000 people defeat burnout so they can live their lives to the best of their abilities.
This is not just a number to me. It is tied to my core values. I value helping others. I value growing as a person. And I value the challenge of creating a successful business.
I cannot help 1,000 people in a deep, meaningful way in just one year. If I tried to rush that, I would probably burn out myself! By setting this as a 5-to-10-year goal, I give myself space. I give myself permission to build the right foundation.
The Willingness to Be Bad at It
There is a hard truth about long-term goals that most people ignore.
The biggest challenge in maintaining a long-term goal is being willing to “suck” at something for long enough to get good at it.
When you start a 10-year journey, you are going to be a beginner. You will make mistakes. You might be awkward. Your first attempts will not be perfect. If your timeline is only one year, those early failures feel like the end of the world. You might quit because you think, “I’m not there yet, and time is running out.”
But when your timeline is a decade, being bad at it in year one is okay. It is just part of the process. You have nine more years to improve. This mindset shift takes the pressure off. It lets you focus on learning instead of just winning immediately.
The Stepping Stone: How Long Are Short-Term Goals?
If the long-term goal is the destination, the short-term goal is the action.
Short-term goals are the steps you take to get there. These are typically things you can finish in less than a year. They could take a few months, a few weeks, or even just a few days.
Short-term goals are great because they give you quick wins. They prove to you that you are moving forward. They keep your momentum up when the finish line feels miles away.
The Scalability Mistake
Short-term goals seem easy, but I see people make a massive mistake here.
The biggest mistake is that people do not think past their current skill level. They set a short-term goal that works for today but breaks their future.
Let’s go back to my goal of helping people with burnout.
Imagine I set a short-term goal to help my first 10 clients. That sounds great. I could probably do that by calling them individually on the phone every day. But does that method work for my long-term goal of helping 1,000 people? No. I cannot call 1,000 people every day. I do not have enough hours in the day.
If I only focus on the “now,” I build a trap for myself.
When you set short-term goals, you have to ask yourself: “Will this work when I am ten times bigger?”
You need to set things up now so they can handle the weight of your future success. Instead of just “helping 10 people,” a better short-term goal would be “Build a coaching course that can serve 10 people now and 100 people later.”
Always look at your short-term steps through the lens of your long-term vision.
The Strategy: How to Execute Both
Now that we know the timeframes, how do we actually do the work? The way you treat a 10-year goal is very different from how you treat a 30-day goal.
My “3-to-5” Rule
People often ask me for my go-to strategy. It is simple, but it is not easy.
Pick 3 to 5 big goals for the next decade. Then, work on them every single day.
That is it. You do not need a fancy app. You do not need a complex filing system. You need consistency.
The act of showing up every single day forces you to get better. It is the compound effect. If you write for 15 minutes every day for ten years, you will be a writer. If you exercise for 20 minutes every day for ten years, you will be an athlete.
Most people work on their goals in bursts. They go hard for January, and then they quit in February. That does not work for a 10-year timeline. Slow, steady, daily pressure is what cuts through the rock.
The Problem with SMART Goals
You have probably heard of SMART goals. It stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound.
Corporate trainers love this framework. And I think it works great—but only for short-term goals.
SMART works for short-term goals because you can see the finish line. You know exactly what “Specific” looks like for a project that ends next week.
But for long-term goals? SMART falls apart.
In a 10-year timeline, you cannot be overly specific. You do not know what the world will look like in a decade. You do not know what technology will exist. You do not even know who you will be in ten years.
You also cannot be sure if what you think is “relevant” now will still be relevant then.
For your long-term vision, keep it broad. Keep it emotional. Focus on the feeling and the impact (like “Help 1,000 people”).
Do not get bogged down in the tiny specific details of a decade from now. Save the SMART framework for your monthly targets.
Flexibility vs. Rigidity
This brings us to a key rule of execution.
Your long-term goal should stay the same, but the avenue to get there should be flexible.
Think about my burnout coaching goal again. The goal is to help 1,000 people. That is written in stone. That does not change.
But how do I help them? That has to be flexible.
Maybe I start by thinking I will write a book. But after six months (a short-term goal), I realize I am a terrible writer, but I am great at making videos.
I don’t change the goal. I don’t stop helping people. The vehicle changes. I switch from a book to a video channel.
If you are too rigid about the “how,” you will fail when you hit a roadblock. If you are flexible about the path but stubborn about the destination, you will find a way to win.
Making the System Work for You
So, how do we put this all together into a life that feels good?
You need to see these not as two separate lists, but as one unified system. Your short-term goals are the ladder. Your long-term goal is the roof. You cannot get to the roof without the ladder, and a ladder standing in the middle of nowhere is useless.
Alignment is Key
Every short-term goal must “ladder up” to a long-term goal.
Before you put a task on your to-do list for this week, ask yourself: “Which of my 5-to-10-year goals does this help?”
If the answer is “none of them,” you need to ask why you are doing it.
Of course, we all have to do laundry and pay taxes. But for your career and personal growth efforts, if the ladder isn’t leaning against the right wall, you are climbing for nothing.
Time-Blocking Your Future
The best way to make sure you actually work on those 3-to-5 big goals is time-blocking.
Do not just put “work on goals” on your to-do list. That is too vague. It will get pushed aside by urgent emails.
Put it on your calendar. Block out 7:00 AM to 8:00 AM every morning. Name that block after your long-term goal.
If your goal is health, that block is “Gym.” If your goal is writing a book, that block is “Writing.” Treat that appointment like a meeting with your boss. You wouldn’t skip a meeting with your boss because you “didn’t feel like it.” Show up for yourself with the same respect.
Staying Focused on Both Horizons
Success is a balancing act. You have to keep one eye on the horizon, looking ten years out. That is your vision. That is what keeps you going when things get tough.
At the same time, you have to keep your other eye on your feet. That is your daily action. That is your short-term goal. That is what keeps you from tripping over the cracks in the sidewalk today.
You do not have to choose between dreaming big and acting small. You have to do both.
Be brave enough to set a goal that will take you ten years. Be humble enough to suck at it for the first year. And be smart enough to build systems today that can handle the success you will have tomorrow.
Define your North Star. Pick your 3 to 5 big goals. And then, start walking.
Are you ready to stop spinning your wheels and start building a legacy? If you want a guide to help you define that 10-year vision and the strategy to get there, I can help.
Visit The Forge Coaching today. Let’s build your future together.
Further Reading:
Built to Last by Jim Collins. (The origin of the 10-year “Big Hairy Audacious Goal”).
Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth. (The science behind aligning your daily “short-term” actions with your “long-term” vision).
Mindset by Carol Dweck, PhD. (Why being willing to be a beginner is the key to mastery).
