19 spiritual goals to set for yourself that will make you happier

You might have a decent income, a nice house, and an envious job, but sometimes, those aren’t enough.

We humans tend to yearn for something deeper, something that might not even be tangible.

You might be financially rich, but spiritually bankrupt.

You realize it isn’t about the money – it’s about finding a sense of fulfillment, belonging.

To be loved and to love others.

Setting clear spiritual goals for yourself can help you align your actions to a greater purpose.

Now if you haven’t been in touch with your spirituality in some time, that is OK. It happens.

So below are 19 spiritual goals to help you get started on making your own and finding your greater purpose.

1. Become More Present Every Day

Nowadays, it can be much easier to get distracted than before thanks to social media.

We might find ourselves lost in a rabbit hole of content that we don’t even realize our surroundings anymore.

It stops us from getting any meaningful work done, or makes us feel anxious about what everyone else is doing.

A way to overcome these feelings is to take your attention back, to become more mindful and aware in your days.

It doesn’t have to take too much of your time either.

Before heading out to dinner, you can close your eyes for a few minutes.

You’ve had the whole day with your attention being pulled in all directions from tasks to clients; this is a great time to breathe and settle yourself.

Over time, you’ll become better and better at staying in the present moment.

2. Forgive Someone Who Hurt You Before

Sometimes, the most difficult things to do in life aren’t even physical.

Some would rather hike up mountains or lift their body weight before they can truly forgive someone, including themselves.

But holding onto a grudge tends to weigh us down. Only through forgiveness will you be set free.

You can start by forgiving people for little things that they did, like getting you the wrong order at a restaurant or forgetting to buy you the thing you asked for on their way home.

Forgiving just one person might already make you feel lighter.

3. Find Solace in Solitude

While there are certainly benefits to being with people, nowadays, it’s more important than ever to understand how to be alone.

There might be things about ourselves that we haven’t yet come to terms with.

This makes time spent with friends turn from meaningful to a distraction.

Instead, learn to sit with your thoughts.

Getting in touch with your spirituality is an internal process.

Growing can become difficult if you aren’t yet comfortable with who you are.

You need to give yourself time to soul search, away from what may distract you.

4. Check on Yourself Consistently

Think of going through life as if you’re driving towards somewhere far, like a road trip.

Every now and then, there might be roads that seem interesting to you.

There might be a road you take that’s about baking.

Suddenly you’ve taken a detour to find some fulfillment in your sudden baking obsession.

But doing this might only make you lose your way.

Just like taking a road trip, you may need to make a few pit stops to refuel and re-energize yourself.

It’s also the time to check if you’re even going in the right direction.

Without making these stops, you might end up breaking down (burning out), and suddenly getting lost.

In your life, a helpful pitstop might be to have some kind of weekly review.

Take a day when you’re free to reflect on the past week: What you did, what you didn’t do, and what you could do better.

This is especially helpful if you feel like you’re stuck in a rut.

I learned about this from Life Journal, created by the highly-successful life coach and teacher Jeanette Brown.

You see, the key to transforming your life into something you’re passionate and enthusiastic about takes perseverance, a shift in mindset, and effective goal setting.

And while this might sound like a mighty task to undertake, thanks to Jeanette’s guidance, it’s been easier to do than I could have ever imagined.

Click here to learn more about Life Journal.

Now, you may wonder what makes Jeanette’s course different from all the other personal development programs out there.

It all comes down to one thing:

Jeanette isn’t interested in being your life coach.

Instead, she wants YOU to take the reins in creating the life you’ve always dreamt of having.

So if you’re ready to stop dreaming and start living your best life, a life created on your terms, one which fulfills and satisfies you, don’t hesitate to check out Life Journal.

Here’s the link once again.

5. Pause Before Reacting to Someone

If someone is being difficult and frustrating, it might be wiser to ask yourself why they’re being that way, instead of yelling at them.

This is really about being more mindful about the way you interact and behave with someone.

Before responding, try to actively listen to what they’re saying.

They might eventually explain their thought process and behavior.

You might’ve just needed to let them finish before interrupting.

6. Develop a List of Priorities

When nothing’s urgent and important, it can be easy to go with the flow of life and wander from one responsibility to the next without purpose.

While some may prefer this way of working, others might come to feel like they feel lost or aimless with this method.

Having a shortlist of priorities may help.

It will allow you to focus your time, energy, and attention into the things that are actually important to your life, not what others say are important.

You can start by having 3 priorities every day. When you have too many priorities, they stop being priorities.

7. Do Something that Scares You

You might have wanted to start a YouTube channel, a blog, a small business, or even speak up but were too shy about it.

One goal you could set for yourself is to venture out of your comfort zone a little.

Stagnation often masquerades as comfort.

When you’re doing the same things over and over, feeling like you aren’t challenged, you stop growing as a person.

Your skills atrophy and your spirit might have been dulled.

Doing something different gives you the chance to grow yourself and test your limits.

8. Be More Grateful

It can be easy to go through life forgetting all the blessings we’ve accumulated along the way – and there tends to be more than we expect.

We focus on the daily grind of work and moving forward and going after want after want, so that we forget about the things we’ve worked so hard to get, that we already have.

One way to help you be more grateful is to come up with a daily list of 3 things you’re grateful for.

You can do this as you wake up, or as you wind down before sleeping.

It can be anything: the lunch you had, the short conversation with your friend, even the fact that you woke up today could be something to be grateful for.

As you build this habit, you may find yourself be happier than before.

9. Be More Giving

Anne Frank once said, “No one has ever become poor from giving.”

Sometimes we forget how fortunate we are to have what we have.

Often, we might even find that we have more than enough to live a comfortable life.

Sharing more with others will nourish your spirit more than you might expect.

It might make you realize that virtues of community and generosity are more important to you than material things.

You can share more than your material things too.

Share your time with your significant other. Lend your ear to your friend who’s going through hardships.

10. Volunteer in your Community

Being part of a larger cause will help you feel like you’re making a difference in the world.

It’s about doing your part for the better of the community.

You could help out your local church with their fund-raising efforts. Volunteer to help sweep and clean the streets around your area.

Maybe you’re relatively good in Math or English; you could try being a tutor for underprivileged kids.

11. Do Something Fun for Its Own Sake

Not everything has to provide some monetary value or become an idea for a new business.

There are some things in life that might even be better just because you’re doing it, not for any gain afterward.

If you love to dance, even if you aren’t good at it, then do it.

You don’t need to be Picasso to enjoy painting.

You could even try going fishing or playing checkers.

These leisure activities, though seemingly trivial, can nourish your soul in unexpected ways.

12. Start a Journal

As part of being more mindful and introspective in your life, it might also help to start writing in a journal.

Writing in a journal has been found to have multiple mental health benefits.

Keeping track of your thoughts may also help you see how much you’ve grown, or present errors in your thinking.

The best part of writing in a journal is that you don’t have to show it to anyone.

Anne Frank once said that she loves writing in her diary because “paper is more patient than people.”

The journal is the perfect place to unload your thoughts without holding back.

13. Help Someone

Being kind and generous is one of those things that don’t need to take much effort.

It could be as simple as helping a stranger who’s clearly lost in the city find their way, or teaching something difficult to someone.

You could also support your musician friend by promoting their music, or help out a stranger struggling to carry something heavy.

You’ll find that these random acts of kindness are truly soul-nourishing.

14. Become your own best friend

The only person you will spend your entire life with is you.

This should be enough motivation for all of us to decide that we need to be our own best friend.

I’m yet to meet anyone who couldn’t benefit from being a little kinder and more loving towards themself.

Self-care isn’t all bubble baths, scented candles, and spa days. It’s about being on your own side in life, betting on yourself, trusting yourself.

One of the things the most successful people know before turning 40 is that you are your best investment in life.

Say nice things to yourself. Focus on your wellbeing. Spend time improving yourself.

Learn how to be comfortable alone. Take yourself off on dates.

Bottom line: discover how to make yourself happy, rather than expecting other people or things to do it for you.

15. Learn how to say no

If you’re lucky, pleasing people is an unfortunate habit that with age you learn how to let go of.

Getting to grips with the little two-letter word ‘no’ is essential to transformation in life.

The word no is so incredibly powerful but so many of us still struggle with it every day. We have a reluctance to speak it for fear of upsetting. We have an aversion to hearing it for fear of rejection.

Yes and no are like yin and yang. Saying yes to anything in life also demands that we say no to something else – whether that’s projects, people, or even just patterns of behavior.

The word no is our protector for the things we can never get back — our time, energy, health, etc.

16. Find a creative outlet

We are naturally creative. This seemingly inbuilt desire is what has helped us to innovate and expand as a species. Creativity has driven human evolution.

But too many of us turn our back on this important form of self-expression. We convince ourselves we need a particular talent or reason to engage in it.

Research has shown that creativity can increase positive emotions, lessen depressive symptoms, reduce stress, decrease anxiety, and even improve your immune system.

It might be cooking, drawing, knitting, photography, pottery, gardening, writing letters, or any number of things.

It matters less what you do, and more that you’re putting your brain into a slower flow state that comes with creativity.

17. Learn something new

We’re constantly learning when we’re young. The older we get the more the daily grind of life weighs us down.

It’s no wonder that pouring a large glass of wine before slumping into a Netflix coma on the couch becomes an evening well spent.

But there’s no denying that learning something new exercises your brain and enhances your quality of life.

If you want to, you can learn a skill that will expand your CV and career prospects. But there’s equal merit in learning something simply for the fun of it.

It wasn’t until I was in my 30’s that I decided to learn how to surf. Next on my list is the piano (wish me luck).

“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.”

– Mahatma Gandhi

18. Appreciate what you have

If I could give my younger self just one piece of practical advice, I think it would be to stop chasing things and start by being grateful with what you’ve already got.

That’s not to say it’s not important to set personal goals. It’s just that focusing on what you have over what you lack is a faster way to happiness.

Adopting a simple gratitude practice can have one of the most profound impacts on your entire life, as neuroscience shows gratitude makes us happier.

Listing things to be thankful for every day helps you to quit obsessing over what you don’t have and make you more mindful of how blessed you really are.

19. Ditch a bad habit (or two)

The best goals sometimes aren’t focused on the positive things in life, but rather what you can take away from your life.

You might ditch a bad habit that improves your health — like quitting smoking, stopping drinking, or curbing that chocolate addiction.

You might decide to do away with a personal habit like negative self-talk, or people pleasing.

Honestly take a look at what doesn’t serve you and decide to ditch it once and for all.

Achieving Your Spiritual Goals

Ultimately, whatever goals you set for yourself are going to be yours only. There are no wrong answers. You set the deadline for achieving the goal – whether it be in a year or something done every day.

At the end of the day, setting goals is really about giving yourself more direction in your life.