Goal setting is more than just wishing and wanting. It can, however, start there as long as you have a little structure and go beyond that wishing and wanting to create a plan and most importantly do something!
If wishes were fishes I'd eat like a king. But since I'm not a big sea food fan I'd prefer to expand my dreams and learn to think bigger. One exercise I love to run people through is to push past the self created boundaries, find the edges of what you think is reality, and push a bit further. Even if you decide to come back to reality you now have blown out some limits and have discovered how much more is out there. Living somewhere between what you've settled for and what is possible is a reasonable place to be happy.
Once you've started dreaming bigger putting together a plan for reaching that dream is the meat of the goal setting process. Whether you decide to "plan backwards" or draw mind maps or shuffle decks of index cards there are two important outcomes from planning. The first is that you have a plan. Whether that plan will work, is realistic, or even pleasant are all debatable. Secondly, and more importantly, you've been through the planning process. You have spent more time thinking about your future than the population of most small towns combined.
The part that turns goal setting into goal getting is taking action. You have to do something. At first it doesn't matter what you do, do anything and pay attention to the results. The nice thing about the whole taking action thing is that once you've done something it is much easier to do more of what works. You can even start doing more random things that may work even better.
These three things are needed for getting to your dream life. Start thinking bigger and take some action towards your goals today. If you don't know how to get there yet take a look at the Six Steps For Change process.
For a guided tour through the goal setting process and to learn more about creating your own customized plan for getting the life of your dreams click here.