In business, education, or healthy living, we all need goals. Two kinds of goals, specifically: short-term and long-term.

And the way they work together is a powerful example of synergy – two things working together seamlessly to achieve a greater good.

Let’s start with a hypothetical desire to illustrate the point. Say you’re feeling the travel itch, but you’re not sure where to go. (This works for dieting, exercise… anything, really.)

So, you look at some travel sites and decide on a European vacation. Price tag? $5,000. You do the math and decide you can save $250 a month. At that rate, it will take you about a year and a half to reach your goal. But to save $250 each month, you’ll need to cut some expenses – Netflix, wine club – and work Saturdays at your family store.

Within that simple process of figuring out what you want (a nice trip abroad) and how to get it (budgeting, saving), you’ve made a long-term goal (save $5,000) and several short-term goals (like saving $250 a month, cutting costs, and earning extra money) to help you reach it.

You were also extra clever because you established a way to check your progress as time goes by, which will let you make adjustments along the way, take advantage of opportunities, and prepare for setbacks.

It can seem daunting to set a long-term goal — “I’ll never save $5,000!” But it feels more manageable to take it a piece at a time — “I can put away $250 each month” – and before you know it, you’re on your way.

And the best part? You’ll get where you really want to go! You can apply this principle to ANY area of your life – especially your health and fitness!

Have you applied this in your life? Let me know with a thumbs up in the comments.