Your 30s are a crucial time in your life. Like the song says we’re old enough to do what’s right and young enough to dance all night.

This is also the year where you may find yourself with many responsibilities and opportunities, but also many challenges and uncertainties.

How can you make the most of this decade and achieve your personal and professional goals?

Here are three ways you can set goals that are realistic, meaningful, and attainable for your 30s.

1. Focus on Your Strengths and Values

One of the first steps to setting goals is to know yourself well.

Self-awareness is one of the best skills we can use in our thirties. To get better at this we can ask ourselves what are our strengths and weaknesses? What are our values and passions? What makes us happy and fulfilled?

By focusing on your strengths and values, you can set goals that align with your true self and your purpose in life. You can also avoid wasting time and energy on goals that don’t suit you or don’t matter to you.

For example, if you value creativity and freedom, you might set a goal to start your own business or pursue a freelance career. If you value health and wellness, you might set a goal to run a marathon or adopt a vegan diet.

To help you identify your strengths and values, you can use tools like the VIA Character Strengths Survey¹ or the Personal Values Assessment¹.

2. Be SMART About Your Goals

Another way to set goals that you can easily achieve is to make them SMART. SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound.

Specific means that your goal is clear and well-defined.

Measurable means that you have a way of tracking your progress and success. Achievable means that your goal is realistic and within your reach.

Relevant means that your goal is important and beneficial to you.

Time-bound means that your goal has a deadline or a timeframe.

Let’s say this year you want to make saving a priority, instead of saying “I want to save money”, you can say “I want to save $10,000 for a down payment on a house by the end of next year”. This way, you have a clear, quantifiable, realistic, meaningful, and timely goal.

If you want to make your goals SMART, I’ve created this SMART Goal Setting Worksheet just for you.

3. Break Down Your Goals Into Smaller Steps

The third way to set goals that you can easily achieve is to break them down into smaller steps.

Sometimes, big goals can seem overwhelming or daunting. By breaking them down into smaller steps, you can make them more manageable and achievable.

By breaking down your goal into steps, you can also create a plan of action and track your progress more easily.

To help you break down your goals into steps, you can use tools like this Goal action plan I created just for you.

Conclusion

Setting goals is an essential part of personal growth and development. However, not all goals are created equal. Some goals are more likely to be achieved than others.

By following these three ways to set goals for your 30s, you can increase your chances of success and satisfaction.

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