Lack of goals

How often do people set goals? I wonder this a lot, since I rarely set any goals for myself. For running I usually have something in mind for each run. Most days I usually have some little task on my mental list of things to get done. These typically include things such as picking up a prescription, getting an oil change, or catching a movie. Should any of those be considered a goal?

Other people always seem to set specific goals, such as what to do with life by the time they hit a specific age, or just what career they want. I don't ever seem to set any of that sort. Of course, on the other hand I seem to get a lot of things done by meandering through life.

I got a Ph.D. in nuclear physics. Could I have really done that without having a goal? I know I don't like to fail at things.

I left the academic world to get in on the ground floor of a company which is still going a decade later (and is now part of a larger company). But I really don't know if I had any specific goal associated with the move. It just seemed interesting. And I didn't want to fail.

What will/should I be doing in one year, five years, ten years, or twenty years. I have no idea what I'll be doing. I have no goals. Should I? If I don't set a goal would that be considered a failure?

Why do I spend time thinking about this? There are too many things to try that seem interesting. And there are lots of movies I haven't seen.

Speaking of which, the movie of the weekend was 3:10 to Yuma. It was a remake of an old western. High production value. It was an easy four star flick. I do know that the main character definitely had some goals set for his life, although I'm not sure if I'd say he was 100% successful.