It is said, that if you aim for the stars, you will at least reach the tree tops. But my recommendation is to be more specific.
I.e: “I want to write a book about volcanos”.
Or: “I would like to run 10 km in less than 60 minutes”.
Try to be precise and direct when setting your goal. Express what you really want.
“Tell me what you want, what you really, really want” – Spice Girls
This is your choice, an active choice.
If you express yourself like this: “I kind of would like to write a book or something, perhaps about volcanos or something like that”, you will probably run in to problems. Both because you have not been clear in expressing what you want, and because it is an unclear goal that is hard to reach. I mean, when can you say that you have “written a book or something” and if it happened to be about geysers instead of volcanos, did your dream come true? 😉
Setting a goal is to declare something to yourself. To make a decision. To agree with yourself that you accept the challenge you set for yourself, committing to the hard work ahead to reach your goal. You make a deal with yourself to reach your goal, before you even know how your path to get there will look like.
One of the most important things to do, except declaring your goal, is to motivate why you set the goal and what lay behind your choice. The motivation can be used through out the process to keep you motivated. Make sure to write down both your motivation and your goal and keep them available, preferably visible so you can see them every day.