As has been mentioned in several self help programs that you may have been aware of it cant be stressed the importance of making and setting long and short term goals.
Short term goals are typically ones which have a timeline of between a week and of a couple of months.
These are more specific ones and because of the timescale may be a longer term ones which has been broken down into a small more manageable one.
A typical example of this would be to improve your performance portfolio at work ( short ) with a view towards a pay rise or promotion (long).
Shorter goals are more effective than longer ones due to the timescale puts you under more pressure and also introduces an element of accountability which is vital to stay motivated.
Long term goals can be thing for 6-9 months to 5 years or even longer.
As the timescale is much more longer than the goals can be more broader.
Also depending on the nature of the short term goals and their immediate results, long term goals may need adjusting over time.
A longer goal should be looked as nothing more than a distant dream or intention.
It should not be obsessively chased as you may trip along the small details in everyday life.
This is why it is important to have both long and short goals and be sure that shorter ones add up the long term one.
The best way to do this is put 100% attention on the shorrter ones whilst always acknowledging the longer ones.