Would you take a vacation with no itinerary or road map to guide your journey? Would you try to build a doghouse, an entertainment center, or any piece of furniture without looking at the instructions? Hopefully, the answer is no. Yet, many people behave in a similar manner by not putting together goals for their future.

To improve your chances of being successful, particularly in this tough economy, you need to set smart goals for yourself. Here are some tips to get you started.

Think Long Term

What do you hope to achieve as your major life goal or goals? What would you need to accomplish in life to consider yourself successful? Think carefully about these questions and be realistic. The idea of setting goals for yourself is not to have a pie-in-the-sky fantasy that could never amount to anything. The idea is to find ways to accomplish a practical but ultimately satisfying major goal in your life.

You might want to have different types of major goals. For example, you don’t necessarily want your only big life goal to be achieving financial success. You might also want a family or to be good as some type of talent like playing the harp or doing woodcarving.

Consider the Steps

Once you’ve thought about your long term goals, you’ve got to start thinking about what smaller achievements you’ll need to reach on your path to that long-term goal. For example, let’s say you want to become a CEO. What would it take to get to that point? You might need to take some extra classes, perhaps in leadership training. You might want to get a master’s in business administration, if you don’t already have one. These are just a few examples.

For each step along the path, you need to have smart goals set that will build you towards that ultimate goal. Think of them as steps along your path.

Always Stay Realistic

The best way to get discouraged as you’re planning your goals is to start thinking they are impossible. The best way to avoid that mindset is to set realistic goals; things you can see yourself achieving. Start small. For example, if you’re terrified of giving presentations but you know that fear must be overcome to achieve your larger goal then make that one of your smaller goals. Then work towards achieving it.

That’s also important when you making plans: have an idea of how the goal can be achieved. If you have a dream but no concrete method of turning it into a reality, chances are good those smart goals are going to stay unfulfilled.

Moving Forward

After you’ve established your goals, you need to begin working on achieving them so you can keep moving towards your ultimate smart goals. Each time you are successful, think of some great way to reward yourself for a job well done. That motivation is going to keep pushing you forward in the right direction.