Definition
Goal mapping is the practice of drawing an explicit route between where a person is now and the outcome they want, naming the milestones and the steps that connect them. It turns a goal from a wish into a navigable path.
A mapped goal answers more than what is wanted. It also answers in what order things must happen, what each milestone looks like, and what the very next step is. Without a map, a goal remains a destination with no directions.
Why it matters
How it works
Goal mapping typically works in reverse: start from the finished outcome and ask what must be true just before it, then what must be true before that, continuing back to the present. The result is an ordered chain of milestones.
The map then connects to two companion practices. Action decomposition shrinks each milestone into steps small enough to start immediately, and follow-through supplies the discipline to keep moving through the sequence. The map gives direction; the other two supply momentum and persistence.