Why THIS should be your New Year's Resolution

Ah yes. It’s that time again. Goal-setting time.Everyone seems to be doing it. Yet according to the latest statistics, only 8% of us actually achieved our resolutions from the year before (Statistic Brain, 2017).So how do we actually make sure that the goals we set this time around will be followed through until the end of the year?Enter Stretch Goals. A term that we at Ideaseed always try to adopt all year around, and one which we think you can use to ensure that you not only meet your goals in business but exceed expectations and nail it in your personal life too.Curious? Read on.

Stretch goals: What is it anyway?

Think of stretch goals as an added bonus to every traditional goal you set.Your traditional goals are commitment goals. They are the minimum threshold and are what most people focus on. Stretch goals are all about going that extra mile. It’s giving that extra bit of OOMPF (the goals that “may be a bit of a challenge but would be amazing if we achieve them” goal).You don’t have to achieve every single stretch goal you set. But giving it a good ol’ crack will drastically improve your performance.

At work

Traditional business-related goals tend to skew complacent.They’re usually set at the minimum requirements so that you can tick off the ‘achieved’ box during your annual review while not letting any of your team or clients down.They’re useful, they’re important, they’re needed… but they aren’t lofty.Have a think about your targets, whether that is on-boarding one new client a month or scheduling five meetings a week. Stretch goals push you to go beyond the minimum requirement. It’s challenging and it requires 150% as opposed to a mere 99.9%. In successful situations, stretch goals can be the underpinning driver to enable people to smash targets and provide inspiration to fellow team members.

At home

Stretch goals can be used in personal goals and tasks as well.For example, if you had a personal goal to drink less coffee per week and you’re an avid “two coffees a day” drinker, your commit goal may be to reduce your coffee intake to once a day for the year and save some money. A good stretch goal could then be to go out for coffee perhaps once every two days, and put an extra $XYZ straight into the savings account.Remember, it’s not about succeeding with all of your stretch goals – and if you do happen to, then they are too easy. It’s about pushing yourself that extra bit to achieve them, and getting outside your comfort zone, because that’s where the magic happens.So. New year, new you.Who’s ready to hit the ground running in 2018?