I would say that whether goal-setting is a helpful technique (or not) to assist the manifesting process is something that is different for each individual, and can only be judged by the individual's personal emotional response to the goal.

An example...

Say I set a goal to manifest one million dollars eventually. And I think about all the wonderful things I will be able to buy, the lifestyle I will live and the kind of person I will be with this kind of money. If those thoughts thrill me and inspire me then goal-setting has proved helpful.

Now say I set the same goal but now I add an additional factor...namely, that I want to manifest it by next Thursday or (as added motivation) someone will come round to my house and shoot me through the head.

Does the emotional response feel different now?

For most people, the thrill has now gone and the emotional response is one of uncertainty, fear and probably terror. I find it's generally a poor policy to set goals that will result in your likely imminent death anyway :) With this emotional response, the goal-setting has not been helpful.

The thing that I think most people misunderstand with goal-setting and manifesting is that they think the goal creates the manifestation. That is, they think setting the goal and taking action towards the goal eventually causes the manifestation to come about.

But it isn't that way.

(The rest of this answer builds on the response to How do you ask for what you want if your mind must be blank during meditation?)

Setting the goal is usually just clarifying an existing desire that has been naturally launched (Step 1 process) while taking the action, surprisingly, is just a Step 3 process...because you are taking action with the belief that that action will eventually result in the manifestation of the goal.

If one considers the implications of this, one can come to the realization that the enlightened approach to setting goals is actually just to set them, feel good about them, and then do nothing at all action-wise unless you felt you really wanted to. i.e. only take inspired action.

I know many of the action-based success gurus (Tony Robbins, Zig Ziglar, the late Jim Rohn etc) would vehemently disagree with that last statement but that still doesn't make it incorrect. :)

So, to sum up, the value of goal-setting really lies in the clarification of your desire. And then the ideal thing to do with most goals (unless continually thinking about them thrills you) is to completely forget about them - and they will manifest in their own good time.

If you need the goal to manifest in a hurry, then the situation becomes much more tricky. And I would refer anyone wanting to do this to the answer in response to What does ‘detachment’ truly mean in Law of Attraction?

Once, I never really had goals...I just tried to get through each day as best as I could. I discovered,after re-reading a series of journals I had kept, that I was covering the same ground over and over; I was repeating the same mistakes, and complaining about the same stuff from year to year.

I wanted my life to have direction! A good analogy for this: Before, I was getting in my car each day, and just driving any old way. Once in a while, I came across something interesting, but it was by chance. All I did was waste my gasoline. I always ended up back home, but I never went where I kept dreaming I wanted to go. One day, I figured out where I wanted to drive. I made a map.(I.E., I set my intention(s)). By following the map, I finally reached some important destinations. I also discovered that while I was heading towards my destinations, the Universe (or God) would make sure that I passed some really neat places to stop and check out. I also made sure that my destination was not so fixed that I did not see the places along the road that were put there to aid me. (Enjoy the journey- that is really the point of the drive!) Sometimes, there were detour signs to pay attention to, and I always followed them, for the Journey-Master (God, Universe) sometimes helped me by showing me that my destination had changed, or that an easier, faster way was along that detour.

The map was an aid to keep me on task. My journeling changed. I noticed that I wrote more and more about the journey, and the repetitive circling had stopped.

Since my mind kept focused on my destination, what I wanted started to come into my life, as if by magic. It "manifested" itself easily.

In short, yes, setting goals helps manifest what you want...in my humble opinion.

Blessings, Jai

I write down my goals in a 2010 goals booklet. It is always in my wallet and I review it regularly. It keeps me focused on what really matters to me.

Enjoy and share, Ronny

Not sure about goal setting. There are always things I want to do, be or have. I keep a day planner and list or write things I need to do to accomnplish those things I want to manifest. For example, I f I want to get started in martial arts: I will jot down things like "call so and so", go to book store, visit a karate school, etc.. Then if there is something I didn't do on the list I transfer over to the next day.

Therefore, I think having a goal in mind is important but to write down goals for the next ten years might be a bit too much.

Goal setting is important, but don't mistake goal setting for goal planning. Those are entirely different and I believe herein is where the difference is enigmatic.

Top level initiates set goals but have no idea how they are going to get them, but they set them. Example: "We need a million dollars for this project." "Okay done, we'll get a million dollars for this project." In the mean time their accountant is going crazy saying, "How, how can you get this money? Where is it coming from? You don't have this! You can't afford this!" Then the initiates have to shut him up telling him a very perplexing answer, "Listen we know not how or where the money is coming from! We don't care, it will be! So forget about it!"

So the goal of a million dollars was set and the intention that they will have it, but no plans were set because the level of importance of the physical world of doing, planning, and learning, vs being and knowing is not a balanced scale.