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I am looking for a specific word for a goal that a person has, but is not currently attempting to reach.

For example, if I want to run a marathon someday but almost never exercise, running a marathon would be a ____.

I have considered "pipe dream" but I don't believe it quite fits because usually a pipe dream is just not possible. This word describes an aspiration that could be achieved with some effort, but the person is not focusing on it.

Thank you

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  • Considering how common the syntactically ungainly noun form a nice-to-have (something desirable, but not essential) is, I doubt there's an even more specific dedicated single-word term for desirable, but not so desirable as to justify making any effort to actually obtain.
    – FumbleFingers
    Commented Sep 16, 2019 at 16:58
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    On the contrary, "pipe dream" fits your sample sentence well. The 'not possible' idea refers to the combination of 'run a marathon' and 'almost never exercise', not to either element in isolation.
    – Lawrence
    Commented Sep 16, 2019 at 16:59
  • I've heard the term "stale goal," and the made-up affliction where one feels powerless in getting themselves to pursue their goals and can't help but continue to fail at them being called "stale-goal-itis." Those are unconventional, though. You won't find them in a dictionary. The word "abandoned" comes to mind, because we regularly refer to "abandoned New Year's resolutions," but that's not quite the same thing because you still have the goal but just can't seem to make yourself do anything about it, turning it into more of a wish or hope. Good luck getting your answer 👍.
    – user361733
    Commented Sep 16, 2019 at 17:05
  • It’s on the back burner.
    – Xanne
    Commented Sep 16, 2019 at 20:47

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While reading your question this frequently used phrase comes to mind:

"A goal without a plan is just a dream."

I think this phrase is popular because of the tone and provocativeness of it. When you are willing to add 'just' or 'nothing but' to your sentence, I think you can create the same power in your sentence by simply using 'dream' or 'wish'.

For example:

If I want to run a marathon someday but almost never exercise, running a marathon would be nothing but a dream.

Or:

If I want to run a marathon someday but almost never exercise, running a marathon would be just a wish.

After doing a quick Google search it looks like a variant of this quote was first coined by Antoine de Saint-Exupery, writer of The Little Prince:

"A goal without a plan is just a wish."

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