Our goals are most effective when they are:

1. Specific. You should know when you’ve reached your goal. For example, “exercise more” is vague whereas “exercise 30 minutes 3x/week” is specific and measurable.
2. Appropriately difficult. There’s a sweet spot in picking the difficulty of our goals. Too easy and we’ll be uninspired, like spinning in a bicycle gear that's too small; too challenging and we’ll be disheartened, like barely turning over the crank up a massive hill. Aim for moderate effort that’s sustainable.
3. Important. If we don’t care about our goals, we’ll have little chance of meeting them. Make sure your goals are indeed yours, not what someone else wants for you. Also consider why each goal is important; how will your life improve when you reach it?