7 Holistic Life Areas to Focus on for Goal Setting

A lot of us stroll through life with no goals or plans to aim for, and I was one of those people for a long time. I mean I had goals but I didn’t write or break them down, visualize them, or make any sort of plan to hit them.

I soon realized that those goals were never going to be achieved if I couldn’t truly define what they were, so I got to work, changed my mindset around goal setting and made a plan.

Settings goals, helped me to be and stay clear on the direction I needed to go, and the steps I needed to take in order to get to them, but if you haven’t figured out what your goals are yet and broken them down, how will you know what actions you’re supposed to take?

The key to smashing goal setting is to be specific, if you’re not specific then it’s too vague to be able to action. Being detailed with your goals ensures that you have an easier time breaking down the plan into steps and also making sure they’re measurable once you’ve hit them. Imagine someone inviting you to their birthday party in the city but not giving you the actual address… Where would you even start?

The next step is to think about the areas in which you want to set these goals, and this is what this post is all about! We’re going to narrow down 7 areas in which you can start setting goals and improve your life in a balanced way.

What Are These 7 Areas?

Personal growth and learning
Career and Professional development
Financial stability and wealth
Health and wellness
Relationships and social connections
Spiritual growth and inner peace
Giving back

7 Areas in Life for Goal Setting

1. Personal Growth and Learning

Growth is a natural part of life for everyone and everything. Naturally, as humans we want to grow, learn and get better; we’re hard-wired to think this way. There’s not a person on earth who wouldn’t benefit from some growth and personal development, and this can look like intellectual development in the way of courses, reading books, attending seminars etc.

You can learn new skills like sewing, gardening, cooking, baking, or even pick up a new hobby. With hobbies, you may not feel like you’re learning much and gaining new skills, but you’re using your brain in such a way that you’ll be developing new neuropathways with the new things you’re doing. This process is called neuroplasticity, which is the brain’s ability to reorganize itself by forming new neural connections.

What goals can you set in this area?

Read 12 books in a year
Learn a new language
Learn to knit or crochet
Take a course
Challenge yourself to expand your vocabulary

Try this 30-Day Personal Growth Challenge!

2. Career and Professional Development

This can come in many forms, not only a promotion. Career development can be aiming for a promotion but it can also look like upskilling in your current role, mastering a tool used by your company, becoming an in-house mentor, or creating a new project or process for the business that helps them save money or time.

Career development can come in many different forms, so find the route that’s most relevant to you and make a plan to achieve it.

What goals can you set in this area?

Find a mentor or become a mentor to someone in your industry
Get feedback and implement changes to improve performance
Volunteer to lead a high-visibility project at work
Read one career-related book per month to level up in your field
Set boundaries to avoid burnout and maintain your wellbeing

3. Financial Stability and Wealth

One of the biggest stressors in life can be financial issues and lack of financial literacy, so cleaning up your money habits, creating a budget, and creating some safety nets in the way of savings will get rid of a lot of that anxiety. But also creating financial goals will help you feel more in control too.

There are lots of goals you could create around finances like saving for specific things or events, reducing your outgoings, slowing down on impulse spending or even becoming more financially literate.

But first, the best thing to do is create a budget and separate your money into different categories such as:

Bills
Groceries
Fuel
Going out
Beauty maintenance
Savings

Or whatever else you need; assign a specific amount to each then think about how you can use the remainder that you have to achieve your financial goals.

I would also suggest reading some books about financial literacy. There are hundreds out there but here are a few I recommend:

You Are a Badass at Making Money by Jen Sincero
The Price of Money by Rob Dix
The Richest Man in Babylon by Geroge Clason
The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey
Your Money or Your Life by Vicki Robin and Joe Dominguez

They can be really helpful in changing your mindset around money and helping you become a clued-up and financially savvy babe.

What goals can you set in this area?

Save 3–6 months’ worth of living expenses in an emergency fund
Pay off high-interest debt (e.g., credit card balances or loans)
Start or increase contributions to a retirement account
Aim to raise your credit score by addressing any negative marks
Set out a percentage of your income to causes you care about

4. Heath and Wellness

Health and wellness doesn’t only mean your physical health and how fit and capable your body is, it encapsulates everything from your physical health to your emotional health. Look at the areas that you could take better care of yourself in, for example, you might need to get up and move your body more, practice mindfulness, meditate, take more ‘you time’, have therapy, communicate boundaries with loved ones — whatever it might be.

Think of some key aspects to do with your health and wellness that need tweaking or increasing and create some goals around them.

What goals can you set in this area?

Drink at least 8–10 glasses of water daily
Aim for 7–8 hours of quality sleep each night
Implement stress-relief practices like yoga, journaling, or deep breathing
Limit screen use before bed
Quit or reduce unhealthy habits such as smoking, excessive alcohol, or junk food consumption

We’re hardwired as humans to be social and to seek out and nurture our relationships and bonds. They’re essential to our very development as infants and our mental and emotional health as adults.

People who have close family relationships and a community have been proven to have fewer symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress. Spending time with your loved ones can fill up your cup and energize you.

What goals can you set in this area?

Schedule regular quality time with close friends or family members
Address unresolved issues in important relationships constructively
Attend social or professional events to meet new people
Reduce distractions during social interactions, such as putting away your phone
Participate in a club, group, or class that aligns with your interests

6. Spiritual Growth and Inner Peace

Feeling balanced and grounded is the foundation for so many other areas in your life to excel. Having a daily spiritual practice such as meditating, journaling, or practicing gratitude can really bring your feet back down to earth and make your heart feel full.

Whichever spiritual path you most resonate with, take the time to study books relating to it, pray, and meditate on the things you want to manifest in your life. There are lots of ways that you can start incorporating a spiritual practice and peace into your life so here are five ideas for goals in this area:

Establish a daily prayer or meditation practice to connect with your inner self or a higher power
Explore sacred or inspirational books that resonate with your beliefs
Participate in meditation groups or retreats
Work on forgiving someone or releasing past hurt for emotional healing
Declutter your home or schedule to create a more peaceful environment

7. Contribution and Giving Back

So many important texts and well-known speakers have outlined the importance of giving back. They say what you give will come back to you 10-fold, so it makes sense to get into the habit of giving back to your community or the people around you.

Not only that but knowing that you’re making a positive impact on your community or for the people who need it is a feeling that the second to none. Whether it’s volunteering, becoming a mentor, organizing cleanups, or regularly supporting charities, there’s an endless amount of ways that you can personally give back.

What goals can you set in this area?

Dedicate a specific number of hours each week or month to volunteering at a local organization
Attend or organize events like clean-up drives, food banks, or charity runs
Commit to donating clothing, books, or essentials to shelters or underprivileged groups
Offer help to neighbors, such as running errands or simply checking in
Join a program that provides resources and education to families in need

Pin these 7 life areas for goal-setting to come back later!

A Life Well-Planned Is a Life Well-Lived

Your new list of goals might seem like a lengthy task but it is much more than a to-do list. It’s a way to shape your life intentionally in the way that you want to look. Pinpointing the areas in life for goal setting that you feel need the most love will help you create a solid plan that will match your actions up with the vision you have of your future self.

Goals give you a clear view of where it is that you want to be in any given time frame. Levelling up your life means that you need to set goals for every area, to make sure you’re not neglecting any area of your life.

Furthermore setting goals will help you build your confidence in yourself and your abilities as you smash through your list and you witness just how much of a powerhouse you really are.

But remember that life changes from day to day, and so should your goals. No two months are going to be alike so I would suggest reviewing your goals each month to make sure that they are still going to get you where you need to go.

The key here is consistency, so try not to throw yourself in at the deep end giving it 500% and then falling off because you bit off more than you could chew. Slow and steady wins the race.

What goals are you planning to smash this year?

7 Key Areas in Life for Effective Goal Setting: A Holistic Approach to Growth