Goals VS Targets: How Each Plays A Role In Your Success

When we talk about terms like goals and targets, they have to be included in your process of reaching a certain level, whether you are a student or a businessman. 

While some state that both these terms are similar in some ways, others mention that they can be easily differentiated.

So, the main question is – are they different from each other? What are the differences and similarities?

If you are interested in knowing, then all you need to do is continue reading our comparison between goals VS targets mentioned below, in this article.

Goals VS Targets:

Definition

Goals are broad and long-term desired results after you have strived to reach that level. The process includes hardwork, motivation, and consistency, to reach that certain status – provides purpose and direction.

Targets are specific and measurable milestones that are usually used to track progress in the process of reaching a goal. For instance, you need to have a target to reach a certain level, and more after that till you complete the goal. 

Characteristics 

Goals

• They are strategic and of a higher level.
• It can fall anywhere between medium and long-term. 
• They mainly focus on what you want to achieve.
• Usually used to represent the ‘big picture’, ‘final destination’, or ‘ultimate result’ of anything. 
• Often non-numerical and focuses more on a desired state or level. 
• They can provide purpose and direction for long-term results. 

Targets

• They could be time-bound.
• They mainly focus on how much and when you want to achieve something. 
• They are precise and defined.
• Usually quantifiable, and you can track it with a metric. 
• They are related to specific actions or tasks.
• It can be both short-term and long-term – acting as milestones that can help you stay on point.

Examples

Goal

• Score in distinction in the last semester.
• Become a higher tier of influencer.
• Reduce sugar intake. 
• Reach 1 million on TikTok.

Target

• Achieve 4/5 overall customer ratings for the new launch by December.
• Start exercising and lose at least 5kg before graduation.
• Practice a new design on Procreate daily. 
• Reach 200k on Instagram by October.

Overall, goals speak ‘why’ and targets say ‘how much’ or ‘by when’ in a process, for example:

• Goal: Improve formulations for all products with ratings below 4.
• Target: Reach an overall 4.5 brand rating by June 2026.  

Difference Between 

Final Words 

Goals and targets are correlated because to achieve a certain goal you will probably have different targets, and specific targets help you achieve a certain goal. 

However, both terms define different meanings and have diverse purposes, and have balanced differences and similarities between them.

That is all for this article, and we hope our comparison between goals VS targets was helpful to you.

Frequently Asked Questions