Stretch Goals for Personal Achievement!

Learn to Shoot Beyond the Stars!

Stretch goals are perfect for setting expectations higher than standard goals on the business front, but what about home life? Can a person really use the business theory of stretch goals in their everyday home lives? Yes and they are easier to employ than you may think.

Whether you find yourself saving for a new home or a new car, trying to exercise to better your health or cutting calories in hopes of losing a few of those extra pounds, stretch goals can help. Most of us use these goals already but have no idea what they are.

If you are trying to save $12,000 towards purchasing a new home in the next 12 months, setting a stretch goal of $15,000 may help you to attain the original goal more quickly. Many of us live in the mind set that if we meet our expectations we are doing our best and therefore only strive to meet, but stretch goals help us to better understand our abilities to exceed our goals. By setting a stretch goal of $15,000, you will not allow yourself to settle for the $1,000 saved per month. Without the stretch goal, you may hit the $1,000 early in the month and find yourself spending any other extra savings with the mindset, "I have already met my goal, and I can spend the extra."

The same goes for new car buying. If you want a $12,000 car setting a stretch goal of $15,000 will allow you to continue to save beyond your original goals.

To better understand stretch goals you have to think of them as constant reminders to be better than you are. Stretch goals will be the angel on your shoulder reminding you to keep working toward the higher goal as opposed to settling for the lower one.

This angel can help with diet and exercise as well. To lose one pound of extra body weight per week a 3,500 calories deficit has to be created in the body. If you are trying to lose weight healthily and have set this 3,500 calories deficit as your goal, you could set a stretch goal of a 7,000 calories deficit resulting in the loss of 2 pounds per week. While you are striving to attain the stretch goal, you will inevitably exceed the standard goal.