Have You Set Goals For Your Spiritual Life? 19 Examples Of Spiritual Goals

Spirituality goals create an atmosphere of self-improvement and self-awareness. 

We feed our bodies, work our muscles, and expand our minds, but how often do we stop to soothe our souls? 

Goals for spiritual growth can have everything or nothing to do with organized religion. 

In fact, the true dictionary definition of spirituality has nothing to do with religion or God. 

Spir·it·u·al·i·ty: the quality of being concerned with the human spirit or soul as opposed to material or physical things.

What Is a Spiritual Goal?

A great way to look at goals for spiritual growth compared to other types of goals is this – you can set them without buying or paying for a thing. 

It’s about how we feel deep inside about our lives, the people around us, and the universe as a whole, and then how we consciously work to create a better space for ourselves and those we love. 

Much like a “Honey Do” list or a financial goal, spirituality goals are written down and followed in our daily lives. 

An earnest spirituality practice becomes as important as making it to work on time or picking up the kids from school.

It’s just ingrained in who we are as self-supportive individuals. 

Why Should You Have Spiritual Goals?

You should have goals for spiritual growth because all the fancy stuff and social media swagger won’t make you a better or more enlightened person.

Spirituality goals put you in touch with something or someone you believe in, and that starts with believing in yourself.

There are many benefits, such as: 

• Comfort and Confidence: Having spiritual goals makes you more self-aware so you can be comfortable in your skin and confident in your thoughts and beliefs. 
• Growth Mindset: Being more connected with your thoughts and beliefs.
• Emotional Intelligence: Have more empathy, compassion, and understanding toward those in your life.
• Mental Health Support: Using tools to calm an overactive nervous system or better manage depression and anxiety. 
• Diversity and Inclusivity: Broadening of the mind to accept different perspectives. 

19 Examples of Spiritual Goals to Consider

Spirituality goals examples are custom-tailored for each person to search for the methods that resonate with your spirit.

There aren’t too many or too few goals for spiritual growth.

There are only goals that work for you and can be achieved regularly. 

1. Declare Intentions Daily

Start the day by setting intentions and writing them down.

Setting them is not a chore –  it’s a call to your inner being directly related to the day ahead of you. 

It need not take more than five minutes, but when starting, plan for 15 minutes. Intentions must be positive and possible. 

Intention-setting spirituality goals examples might be, “I intend to be patient” if the traffic generally ends with you frustrated as you walk into work. A working parent might say, “I intend to be present,” so you enjoy breakfast with the family instead of scrolling through your phone. 

Intentions reflect who you want to be as a person today before the weight of the world lands on your shoulders.  

2. Salute The Sun

Whether you’re an experienced yogi or someone who can barely touch their own toes, you are blessed to have another day to be better than you were yesterday. Celebrate that with a sun salutation.

Fan your arms over your head, put your hands in an unwebbed prayer position, and let your hands drop in front of your face. Fold down from the waist until your hands are hanging and your head is at your knees. 

Take a deep breath and lift up halfway, and melt your upper body down again. If you are so inclined to add the chaturanga, go for it! Do this three times. 

3. Surround Yourself with Photos

Our inner spirit is illuminated when we see people who are important to us and things that inspire us. Too often, we leave all the good photos on the phone and don’t print them out to see in the common corners of our daily lives. 

Print out that goofy picture of your dog and put it on the back of the door so you see it when you leave. Take your favorite vacation photo with a loved one and print it on canvas. Hang it in the kitchen or at your workstation. 

Put a photo of your child’s last birthday party in the bill section of your wallet so you see your little one in a happy space every time you open it. 

4. Unplug Weekly

Set a “technology-free” hour or dinner with your family or yourself weekly. Excuse yourself from the influencer competition on social media and be okay with the world around you. 

Savor the meal, slowly sip your favorite wine, and just enjoy the conversation or calm. 

For this habit to work best, you should store the mobile devices well out of sight. Turn off all screens, even the television. 

5. Watch Motivational Speeches

Remember how you felt the first time you heard Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech? That tingle in your stomach and uplifting power in your core is waiting to be energized. Recreate this feeling by watching TedTalk videos or other inspirational speakers.

They can be speakers you agree with or those you don’t. It just matters that you’re empowered by words most people will only cross in a 15-second Instagram story.  

6. Attend Spiritual Services

If you are a person of faith or willing to hear different religious philosophies, attend church or other spiritual services. 

The beauty of most churches is the openness to all people and judgment-free spaces. Even if you aren’t a follower of a religion, there’s something in the choir music and sermons that awaken our spirit when it’s worn out. 

It is especially beneficial if you struggle to answer, “Is there a God?” You’ll gain new perspectives through different denominational and non-denominational services. 

7. Visit Historical Sites

There’s a grounded connection when you walk in the footsteps of pioneers, adventurers, Native Americans, and other historical figures. 

Look out over the vast open land of the Lewis & Clark trail. Visit Donner Lake in California, where the Donner Party fought with all their might to survive as they walked their own spiritual journey. 

Your community has historical sites and markers that reflect the history of the community that allowed you to live the life you do today. Connect with and honor those men and women. 

8. Volunteer Your Time 

Few things feed the soul and the spirit, like volunteering. Yes, it feels good to donate a couple of bucks. It feels better to donate your time. You get paid with reflection, compassion, and impact.

It’s humbling to see a dog shelter with dozens of dogs that haven’t been for a walk in a week, and you can improve their life – thus their chances of being adopted – by spending one hour a week there. 

You can mentor a child through Big Brothers Big Sisters and prove yourself as a trusted adult and positive role model. 

9. Become a Mentor

You got where you are today because someone once believed in you. Tap into how special that made you feel. Remember how you looked at that person like they were the biggest superstar in your circle. Pay that forward.

Find an intern from a local community college or mentor a high school student. If you’re a public servant, take a child on a police station or courthouse tour to learn about the legal process. 

You might even just offer to mentor a less experienced colleague for a few hours a week. Bonus points if you seek out a mentor of your own to grow in your craft. 

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10. Watch Dogs

There’s something just wholesome and animalistic watching how dogs interact. The gnarled mouth gives way to a wagging tongue to show a playful movement, not an aggressive one. 

The way a large dog will get down on the ground to make the playing field fair for the smaller dog is humbling. 

Walk by a dog park and see the herding breed running circles around all the other dogs. Watch the Golden Retriever chase the ball like a prize-winning foul at a hunting competition. 

The world around you will melt away, and you’ll be immersed in the natural creature that doesn’t know selfishness and only knows how to love unconditionally. 

11. Practice Kundalini Yoga

There are many variations of yoga, so a new yogi might feel overwhelmed. Kundalini yoga is a practice that marries movement, breath, and sound to activate the coiled energy at your tailbone and let it unwind through the seven chakras. 

The practice is designed to be like a snake shedding its skin. 

At the end of the practice, you’ll sit in Savasana (corpse pose) and feel your spirit shining and your entire being more centered. Do at least three sessions before you decide if you like this as one of your goals for spiritual growth. 

12. Research Your Genealogy

Trying to figure out who we are is rooted in our origins. There is an abundance of websites and programs available to research your family for the past couple of centuries. 

Most historical societies will have museums with a genealogy room where you can search by hand through documents that could be part of your family lineage. 

At the same time, make sure your fingerprint is left on this world so future generations of your family can search for you. 

13. Explore Sounds

Sound machines are for more than just helping you get to sleep at night with white noise. The extensive database of sounds, noises, and rhythms will help you find what sings to your soul. 

The sound of distant thunder can be invigorating, while the songs of dolphins introduce you to a community you can only appreciate but never join. 

Listening to Tibetan singing bowls is as much about the sound as the vibration penetrates your inner being and releases your body to a new state of self-awareness and purpose.

14. Meditate Daily

Sometimes you just need to calm the noise around you and close the tabs in your mind. Meditation is perfect for this. You don’t have to be at home or on vacation to enjoy meditation. 

It might be sitting in your car in the parking lot for 15 minutes with your eyes closed and air conditioning blowing. 

Set your phone alarm for five or ten minutes, close your eyes, and focus on your breath. Feel every movement as the air fills your belly, lungs, and fills up your throat. 

Try 4-7-8 breathing where you inhale, from belly to back of the throat, for four seconds. Hold your breath for seven seconds, then exhale for eight seconds until your belly and lungs are empty. 

15. Eat a Clean Diet

Eating healthy food helps nourish our minds as much as our bodies. Food that is treated as fuel and not a reward or punishment can help clear our minds and make us feel better about ourselves. 

We can focus more on intentions and spirituality goals when we aren’t dealing with digestive issues. 

16. Join a Team

Join or create a team for a sport, game, or hobby. You don’t have to tell your buddies, “Hey, let’s work on our goals for spiritual growth.” However, there’s nothing wrong with that conversation if you choose. 

Teamwork helps us build social connections and supportive environments. It gives us a chance to succeed and support others who succeed. We can learn from others, and we can teach them a thing or two. 

It is especially important if you don’t have positive experiences with people throughout the day. A toxic work environment or bad relationship can actually work against our spiritual goals and challenge our inner selves in a fight-or-flight way. 

17. Be Gracious with Gratitude

Imagine the worst day you’ve had recently. Got it? 

Ok, now think of three good things that happened that day. There is always a silver lining or a spot of sunlight. Write those down. 

When we practice gratitude, we see the forest through the trees. We spot the finish line, not just this challenging step of the race. 

Take this with a non-religious context, but there’s something to the thought of “What if we woke up tomorrow with only the things we thanked God for today?”

18. Pay It Forward

How heartwarming is it when you hear about the Starbucks drive-thru “pay it forward” line that went 100 cars deep? It gives you that tingle when your soul is soothed. 

Find ways you can pay it forward, whether it’s helping an older adult load groceries in the car or telling someone they dropped a scarf on the ground.

Bonus points if you encourage others to pay it forward. Say you go help your neighbor pull weeds. When the neighbor tries to pay you, tell them you want nothing in return but a promise they will pay it forward when someone needs their help someday. 

19. Journal Before Bed

Before bed, put your phone away for the last hour. Grab a journal and write down your thoughts of the day. 

How well did you meet your intentions? What intentions do you want tomorrow? What was a funny or frustrating moment from that day? 

Unleashing the thoughts from your brain onto paper can help you go to bed with a clear mind, which leads to a good night’s sleep. 

Sidebar: ​We have expanded my content on Mindfulness with an actionable book that will help you learn more about mindfulness with my Declutter Your Mind book.

Final Thoughts

These spirituality goals examples are just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. You know what resonates in your soul and when you experience an awakening moment, do more of that thing. 

When it comes to intentions, goals, and journaling, it’s imperative you write them down. Make it real. Enjoy the process. You can’t win or lose. You win by just showing up for your neglected spiritual side.