We all have our goals in life and we keep striving to achieve them. Some of us want to improve our health, get fit, improve our knowledge base, improve our job performance, get a better position, etc. Others may want greater things in life, be an inventor, nobel prize winner, a renowned artist etc

We start by setting our goal and then we begin to work towards achieving it. We all want to achieve the goals we set, so subconsciously we set goals that are reasonable and easy to achieve. Even so, quite often we do not achieve the goals we have set. So the question arises – What’s the issue ? We all know that if we apply ourselves to reach a goal we will do so, so why do we fail ?

Have you ever thought that the goals you set may not be challenging enough ? They do not inspire you to do your best ? So you may tend to put off doing them and thus end up not achieving your goals.

SO – What can you do ?

Define STRETCH goals for yourself. These goals are an important source of individual as well as organizational motivation and achievement. Enterprising and bold thoughts and goals tend to attract and encourage the best talent and also create a stimulating work environment. Stretch goals excite us, motivate us and push us to go the extra mile, put in our greatest efforts to achieve them. Many organizations, eg. Google, 3M, Boeing, Fujifilm etc have used such goals and been successful using such goals.

What Is a Stretch Goal ?

A Stretch gaol can energize you push you to work harder and smarter at achieving more difficult goals . The bottom line being that you will achieve more compared to if you had set an easier goal.

When you set a stretch goal for yourself you may know that you might not meet it 100%, but even if you come close to achieving it, you will likely achieve extraordinary results.

Stretch goals are different from ordinary challenging goals in two ways :

• VERY DIFFICULT

Stretch goals define expectations that go beyond the current capabilities and performance, of an organization or person. It emphasizes going all out, running the extra mile and making drastic changes. These goals challenge one to put in extra efforts and perform at higher levels.

• VERY INNOVATIVE

It involves exploring new paths and approaches to define a stretch goal. Not only that it also implies working differently, using out-of-the-box thinking to define and figure out how you will achieve your goals.

Ordinary goals will lead to ordinary results. While stretch goals, enlarge your thinking and actions. By setting stretch goals you need to multiply your efforts as well as actions. The result is a transformation and higher payoff in terms of results. If you feel that the goal is not achievable do not lower it to meet the requirements. Instead gear up to raise your efforts and meet the goal.

Remember  –>  MASSIVE ACTION = MASSIVE RESULTS

When you are ready mentally, as well as physically to go after your goals, that will mean that you are ready to take massive action in your life. When you take massive action you will get the results you crave in terms of money, position, status etc. It is always the level of effort that you exert to become successful which will help you to become a better person and performer.

There are no ideal solutions in life for a person or an organization. It is for you to assess and identify your competencies and capabilities and identify what are the best options to go for. Based on that, you should set your goals, even stretch goals, when you evaluate them to be feasible.

“One way to keep momentum going is to have constantly greater goals.”– Michael Korda