Setting Good Intentions versus Setting Clear Goals, which is better?

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2021 is almost coming to an end and checking whether you are on track to achieving your goals and the good intentions you made will help pave the way for a great start to the new year 2022.

A few weeks ago, I reviewed the plans I made this 2021. I did not write it down but listed them all down on my phone. I wanted to check if I was on track and If I became true to myself and whether I was following the goals I set in early January 2021.

Looking back, it feels so great to know that I accomplished something. There’s no doubt in my mind that setting goals has allowed me to realize our dream of living in Canada as a family. I am still surprised how powerful the habit of writing goals every single day could be! Of course, none of it would have been possible without the grace of God.

This year though, I was a little disappointed as I was not very clear on my goal. I set a 2021 goal, and it was very generic. I realized that those are not even goals! What I had set for 2021 was merely pure INTENTION. Why so? Because I did not set a clear timeline to achieving those. (Was I too caught up with noises around me) Every goal should have a timeline attached to it. Otherwise, it’s simply not a goal but an intention. And that’s the difference between good intentions versus setting clear goals.

Here are what I’ve set for the beginning of 2021:

1. Pray with all my heart and soul

2. 10-minute exercise daily

3. CELPIP CLB 10 

4. New Skill

5. Increase bonding time with my husband

6. Increase bonding time with my daughter

As far as SMART goals are concerned, the list above are not goals and not entirely smart. However, I don’t want to demean what I wrote down and never want to discredit myself. I should still give a good pat on my back and acknowledge that I had set 2021 GOOD INTENTIONS.

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Do you write your life goals? It’s a known fact many people don’t take the time to write their goals and merely saying out loud their pure intentions and resolutions for the year. So having set and written down those good intentions in this challenging year to me is better than not having to set anything at all!

So, what’s the difference between setting good intentions versus setting clear goals?

Setting good intentions is synonymous with laying motives and probably planning for something to happen or occur. When setting good intentions, you can cover various areas of your life such as spiritual, financial, physical being, career, marriage, etc. Setting clear goals, on the other hand, covers the same areas as good intentions. The only difference is that there is a timeline or due date attached to every intention.

How I would make my 2021 good intentions become clear goals, I would have written down the following instead:

1. Strengthen my spirituality by committing alone time of daily morning prayer and gratitude for at least 15minutes 

2. Become more physically fit by exercising at least three times a week either through running, 30-min walking, or playing tennis

3. Complete CELPIP test and achieve CLB 10 score by 30th July 2021

4. Learn to play tennis and be good at it this year and commit at least three times a week to practice. 

5. Obtain my driver’s Learner license by 30th December 2021 by reviewing daily for 15 minutes and taking the test after three months of review.

6. Increase bonding time with my hubby by spending at least one hour every night, having great conversations over wine, or watching favorite TV shows/movies.

7. Increase bonding time with my daughter by committing to writing down in our journal together and sharing our thoughts and feeling over the journal prompts every Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday until we maxed out all the journal pages for this calendar year

How to turn your good intentions to 2022 realistic life goals?

To start, it is best to think about your good intentions first in all the areas of your life you want to improve or make changes. Then, once you have written down your good intentions for 2022, it would be easier to turn and write down your clear goals surrounding each intentions. Again, setting clear goals should have a timeline or a deadline to it.

CONCLUSION:

Setting good intentions and clear goals is as easy as:

1. Set good intentions that you want a change or want to improve on in your life and write them down. See my example above. I suggest covering your spiritual, health, financial, and relationship.

2. Set clear goals to cover all your good intentions with a realistic timeline and a due date.

Have you set good intentions and clear goals this 2021? Are you satisfied with the outcome so far? If you haven’t written down your good intentions and clear goals for the year, I encourage you to begin now and build the habit of doing so. We are closing the year 2021 soon. It’s time to review our life closer. It’s never too late to set good intentions and clear goals. Begin 2022 goal setting, and I bet you’ll have a great kickstart in the coming new year 2022! Good luck and all the best!