We all know the importance of setting goals to improve our body or our career, but what about our emotional and spiritual side?

Here is a list of eleven examples of spiritual goals for those who want to get closer to God, or the higher part of themselves, and become happier through a richer spiritual life.

What are spiritual goals?

In short, spiritual goals are goals that help you reach a more fulfilling, more joyful, more spiritual life. If you are religious, spiritual goals will get you closer to God and your God-given path.

Depending on your current situation, spiritual goals could also help you reach wisdom, clarity, or spiritual enlightenment — whatever it means to you.

Spiritual goal ideas and examples

  • Read a spiritual book. This could be either a religious text or any book that improves your spirituality and helps you become more aware of your purpose. But whatever text you choose, make sure to really take the time and immerse yourself in what you are reading. It’s always better to read a great book with great intensity, than a hundred random books purely out of boredom.
  • Learn dream interpretation. You may think that learning how our mind works when we dream only relates to psychology. But the truth is that sometimes, as we dream, our subconscious mind gives us hints and directions which, when interpreted correctly, can help us grow spiritually and guide us onto the best path for us.
  • Meditate or pray more frequently. Spend some of your free time in silence and pray; ideally, make it part of your daily or weekly schedule. If you are not religious, you can either practice meditation or reflect on your life — for example, reflect on how much you have grown, or what you should do to improve your existence as well as that of those around you.
  • Practice forgiveness. To improve your mental and spiritual well being, it is absolutely essential that you remove negativity from your life. When we are angry, when we are stuck in the past, when we hold grudges — we are adding negativity to our own life, whether we realize it or not. Forgiving others as well as yourself will help you let go and focus your energy on the things that truly matter.
  • Help those who are in need. For instance, you could donate your old clothes, donate to food charities, join fundraising events, support animal charities, or volunteer. When you know you are contributing to others’ happiness, life becomes more meaningful and more fulfilling. And as shown by many psychological studies, giving doesn’t just make others happier — it makes you happier as well.
  • Remove unnecessary distractions. This includes clutter, noise, people who drain your energy, and time wasters in general. The more distractions around you, the harder it will be to get closer to God (if you are religious), or to simply get closer to the highest part of you. As explained in a previous article, those who exist tend to fill their existence with distractions; those who live with passion avoid them.
  • Keep a journal. Writing is powerful, but it must be done properly — a note app on your phone won’t cut it (and it’ll make it harder for you to fall asleep at night, if you write in the evening). So keep a journal, and develop the habit of writing down all your important thoughts, intuitions, and dreams. Or even just things you are grateful for, and things that bring you joy. Which is a great way to…
  • Practice gratitude. When you focus on all the wonderful things you do have (rather than wasting time obsessing over the things you don’t have), you automatically raise your emotional and spiritual vibration. By practicing gratitude, you are telling God, or whatever you believe in, that there is happiness in your life. And by doing so, you attract and embrace even more happiness.
  • Learn to love solitude. Although meaningful social interactions are a fundamental part of our life as human beings, if you want to improve your spiritual life you must learn to love and appreciate solitude. The truth is that each of us has a unique path in life, and sometimes people — including the people we love — can prevent us from following the best path for us, simply because of their different views or personality. Being alone from time to time could help you gain more clarity.
  • Try fasting. When done the right way, fasting can boost your immune system and even improve energy and focus. However, fasting can also be a spiritual experience. Many people who practice it say that it’s helped them become more aware of their purpose and mission in life, as well as feel spontaneous joy. Fasting can also help you control your emotions and energy, and channel them, so you can grow spiritually.
  • Cultivate positive thinking. The last spiritual goal idea in this list is to simply cultivate the habit of positive thinking, and to train yourself to see the bright side of people and things rather than their dark side. Positivity is powerful, but to truly experience its power, it must become part of your life. The goal is to have positive thoughts and emotions most of the time, not just occasionally. Improve your attitude and it will be easier to improve your spirituality as well.

Have you ever thought of setting goals for your spiritual life? Which spiritual goal/goals would you like to accomplish? I’d love to hear your thoughts — let me know by leaving a comment below! 👇