Most of us are familiar with goal setting. We vow to lose weight, or get a new raise at work. Many times however, we are so busy chasing these smaller goals we fail to look at the big picture. Life goals are the big goals in life. The goals that define who we want to be as people, and what we want out of our lives.

Big goals might be traveling the world, founding a charity that empowers women, or maybe earning a gold medal in the Olympics. They define the things you really want out of life. It could be as simple as raising a family on an urban homestead, or as complex as becoming the CEO of a Fortune 500 company. 

Few people formally put their life goals in writing because after a busy day of just surviving, kicking back on the couch is just so much more appealing. Life goals are important though, because they can give the life you have—yes even those moments when you're just vegging on the couch, more purpose.

 If you're ready to set some goals, here are a few tips on getting started.

Think about what's most important to you

List out on paper all of the things in life that are important to you. The things that you dream of doing, and also the things that you just enjoy. Once you've listed everything you can think of, start narrowing it down until all you have left are dreams you can't live without. When you've narrowed it down to just these dreams, you've got your life goals.

Overcoming obstacles in your way

'You can do anything you set your mind to!' is a common phrase used to encourage children, but when faced with the sheer impossibility of some tasks, that seems like a particularly hard thing to do. Many of us struggle just to quit a bad habit alone, such as smoking, let alone having the drive to run hard enough to compete in a marathon.

 If you have big obstacles in your path, such as being too poor to travel, or wanting to go carbon free in the middle of a city, it can seem like there's no way to reach your goal.

 The good news is, with good luck you will have a full life time to reach your goals in. The trick is to break the goal down into manageable pieces, so you can move closer to your goal little by little. No one woke up one day and went from couch to iron man in a single day. If you want to run a marathon, a step in the right direction is as simple as putting on your sneakers and going for a walk.

Having life goals can change who you are as a person. When you know more about what you want out of your life, it helps you make small shifts in what you do each day, so you can get closer to that goal one step at a time.