A bit harsh, but you make a good point about the short-term goals. I've had awesome success doing things like aiming for a slightly heavier lift within a couple months, or nailing down form on a lift for a month, or whatever. Even though the timescale can get a bit out of whack (like making it to your 8 month goal inside 6 months), even longer term goals, like "a 250lb squat by 4th of July" work well enough for motivation. Everyone's got an idea of where they want to be years down the road, sure, but make sure you don't disappoint yourself when you come up short on the goal because you underestimated how much work it would take to get there. Every day is just a bit closer.
