Have you ever been on a stretcher? I was a few years back when I was rehabbing a neck problem.

What happened? Well, I actually grew a bit, something pretty cool at my age.

What does my growth have to do with your business? Well, it’s about being on the stretcher. When was the last time you put your goals on the stretcher?

What is a stretch goal?

During a conversation with one of my clients, we talked about stretch goals, when to use them, when to adapt them.

What exactly is a stretch goal?

I believe it is one that takes you out of your comfort zone. I think it still needs to have a component of achievability. When you do achieve it, it will take you to a whole new level. You could also think of it as a breakthrough goal.

Why would you want to do this? It’s not really about even achieving the goal. It is about the kind of person you become by doing this. All of us face a mindset issue in achieving our goals. By choosing one that is BIG, you have to be a different person. It causes you to expand your vision, overcome your fears, and face obstacles you might not expect. It lets you go to the next level in your business and life. And once you get there, you won’t want to go back.

How to choose a stretch goal?

Choosing a stretch goal is different for each person and their business.

It depends on where you are in your business and what resources are available to you.

If you are quite successful and have lots of resources, aka cash, stretch might mean risky or really big.

If you are just starting out or strapped for cash, you might think of any goal as a stretch. Instead of thinking astronomical for your stretch goal, think of a smaller goal that will still challenge you. Or scare you just a bit.

More modest goals done in smaller, incremental steps will lead you where you want to go. And, you’ll get practice for a goal that stretches you a lot.

Think of something that would make a difference in your life or the lives of your customers. Most of us set small, incremental goals that feel safe. When you set your stretch goal, it could be setting a financial goal of 25%, maybe 50% increase. That could make a difference, right? It could be to double your newsletter list. It could be to write the book you have been talking about but never work on. How would you have to think differently if you have a stretch goal?

If you set goals for the year, go back and look at them. Are they all safe? If so, pick one and make it a stretch goal. Then go back and figure out how you will get there. You will be rewarded in the end.

Two quotes to share on stretch goals:

We have found that by reaching for what appears to be the impossible, we often actually do the impossible; and even when we don’t quite make it, we inevitably wind up doing much better than we would have done.
Jack Welch, who coined the term stretch goal.

The major reason for setting a goal is for what it makes of you to accomplish it. What it makes of you will always be the far greater value than what you get.
Jim Rohn

It’s your turn!

Do you have a goal that can be stretched? Share it here to keep yourself accountable.

Tags: business growth, stretch goal

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 11th, 2019 at 9:15 am and is filed under Goals, Success. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.