Goals can be classified based on the human desires. Normally, humans
expect happiness or satisfaction from every activity. Here the goals are
classified into three types:
I Primary Goals
Happiness/Satisfaction
II Secondary Goals
Sound Health
Peace
Success
III Tertiary Goals
Short-term
Intermediate
Long-term
Primary Goals
All we have five senses, - Eyes, Ears, Nose, Tongue and Skin. All the
humans have been using these senses for the same purpose, i.e., eyes to see,
ears to hear etc. In addition to this, mankind has been living from heart
beating, respiration, digestion process, etc. Where these aspects are common
for all, how the primary and secondary goals vary from person to person- answer
is ‘varying personality’. No doubt, the personality influences the human goals,
of course, only tertiary goals, but not the primary and secondary goals. The
ultimate goal of mankind is to derive happiness or satisfaction. So, the author
felt these as primary goals.
The word 'happiness' is used in various ways. According to Veenhoven
(1984) in the widest sense, it is an umbrella term for all that is good. In
this meaning it is often used interchangeably with terms like 'wellbeing' or
'quality of life' and denotes both individual and social welfare. This use of
words suggests that there is one ultimate good and disguises differences in
interest between individuals and society (Veenhoven, 2012). Overall happiness
is the degree to which an individual
judge the overall quality of his/her own life-as-a-whole favorably. In
other words: how much one likes the life one leads. This definition is
explained in more detail in Veenhoven (1984).
It is often said that Socrates posed the defining question of ethics:
How should I live? (Plato, 1992). Some 2400 years of subsequent philosophical
inquiry into this matter have yielded few real answers, perhaps none.
Psychological happiness is the single most important aspect of well-being.
According to Hedonism theory (https://www.authentichappiness.sas.upenn.edu)
in all its variants, it holds that happiness is a matter of raw subjective
feeling. A happy life maximizes feelings of pleasure and minimizes pain. A
happy person smiles a lot, is ebullient, bright eyed and bushy tailed; her
pleasures are intense and many, her pains are few and far between.
Desire theories hold that happiness is a matter of
getting what you want (Griffin, 1986), with the content of the want left up to
the person who does the wanting. ‘Happiness’ is currently conceived as
subjective well-being. In a narrow sense ‘happiness’ is regarded as one
component of subjective well-being, that is: the overall appreciation of
life-as-a-whole (Wolfgang, 2000). Some individuals can be satisfied though they
are exposed to a lot of misery. Overall happiness depends much on satisfaction
in different life domains.
Happiness is the most direct word and most commonly used. The meaning of
happiness is clear and precise and misunderstanding is minimal. Since happiness
is the ultimate objective in life, life satisfaction is very closely related to
happiness. This is supported by the fact that surveys give very similar results
whether happiness or life satisfaction is used. However, life satisfaction may
yet differ from happiness. According to Kwang Yew-Ng (2015), happiness should
be preferred in most cases, particularly with respect to what individuals and
the society should really be interested in ultimately. In the past decade or
so, happiness studies have made significant advances, including many new and
significant findings, much more interdisciplinary. Happiness (for oneself or
for others) is the ultimate objective of rational individuals. We make money in
order to buy goods; we consume goods to stay alive and to enjoy life.
It means happiness and satisfaction are the primary goals of the humans.
It means happiness and satisfaction are the primary goals of the humans.
Secondary Goals
We need sound health for carrying daily work and for a happy life.
Without health, there is no peace in life. For the successful life, health and
peace are essential. As such, the author proposed sound health and peace as
secondary goals.
Tertiary Goals
Almost all human’s have personal goal(s) and here specified them as
tertiary goals. The priority or preference of a personal goal may vary with
person to person. However, the tertiary goals shall be set in such a way, that
they shall not disturb the primary and secondary goals. While it means working
for the personal goals, these goals shall not disturb ones health and peace
during the process of achievement. Some of the personal goals are; Career, Financial,
Making a good family, Personality development, Spiritual intelligence, etc.
Based
on the time required to achieve them these goals can be classified into three
types-short term, intermediate and long-term goals (Jennifer and Lesley, 2008).
Short –Term Goals
These goals exist for a short time. They change frequently and sometimes
every day. Ex. Finishing certain work on the same day, attending a function,
preparation for a slip test, payment of a current bill, etc. Short-term goals
can be an effective predecessor to intermediate and long-term goals, because
they offer instant feedback, and help improve self-confidence. Visible
reference base this will provide an agenda as well as a record for
accountability when it comes time to evaluate the goal status (Nikitina, 2012).
Intermediate Goals
These goals take more time compared to short term goals. For example,
one may choose IT profession as a career goal. To achieve it, one has to cross
school level. It is an intermediate goal for a student. Similarly, if somebody
puts a goal to earn two million dollars within a 15 years period, there shall
be an intermediate goal, by bifurcating it into 0.5 million for first 5 years,
1.0 for 10 years and so on.
Long - Term Goals
Long term goals may take a few years to several years or even decades.
They can be career, family related, financial, spiritual and so on. A long- term goal acts as a driving force to
achieve short- term and intermediate goals and vice – versa.
Long-term goals are used to create a mental image of one’s end result of
the goal. They may ultimately be harder to narrow down to specifics of path and
deadlines. Keeping the big picture in mind can help maintain the value and
motivation in pursuit of the long-term goals. While the long-term goals often
hold the value for the pursuant, breaking them down into smaller, more
obtainable goals with a specific time frame can make them more effective
(MindTools.com, 1996). The process of breaking down of long-term goals into
realistic, short-term accomplishments can help build self-esteem, offer instant
feedback, and provide check points to the individual to keep them on task (See
realistic goals and meet them, 2011). The short – term, intermediate and long –
term goals shall set, in such a way, to achieve the primary and secondary
goals.
References
Griffin,
J. (1986) Well-being: Its meaning, measurement, and moral importance. Oxford,
England: Clarendon Press.
Jennifer Creek,; Lesley Lougher,
(2008) "Goal
setting". Occupational therapy and mental health (4th ed.).
Edinburgh; New York: Churchill Livingstone Elsevier. 111–113 (112).
Kwang Yew-Ng (2015) Happiness, Life Satisfaction, or
Subjective Well-being? A Measurement and Moral Philosophical Perspective
(http://www.ntu.edu.sg/ home/ykng/HAppiness, LS, 20SWB 2015 .pdf).
MindTools.com (1996) Personal goal setting: planning
to live your life your way. Available at: https://www.mindtools.com/page6.html.
Nikitina, A. (2012) Short term
goals: the ultimate strategy to excel in short term goal setting. Available at: http://www.goal-setting-guide.com/short-term-goals/
Plato, 1992 in.
Haybron Daniel M (2000) Two
Philosophical Problems In The Study Of Happiness, Journal of Happiness Studies 1: 207–225.
Veenhoven, R.
(1984) Conditions of happiness. (Dordrecht,
Netherlands: Kluwer (now Springer).
Veenhoven Ruut
(2012) Happiness: Also known as
‘life-satisfaction’ and ‘subjective well-being’.
Wolfgang Glatzer
(2000) Happiness: Classic Theory In The
Light Of Current Research, Journal
of Happiness Studies, 1: 501–511.
Source:
1. Sankara Pitchaiah Podila (2019) Personal Goal Setting, International Journal of Recent
Scientific Research, Vol. 10, Issue, 02(B), pp. 30767-30772.
