Stretch Goals

Reach for the sun to achieve your best.

The spur for this article is this post.As Alex puts it :Reach for the sun to achieve your best.Or as the Malayalam proverb goes reach for the stars at least you will fall on top of the coconut trees.

Stretch goals have their place.I believe Azim Premji has a good test for the ambitiousness of our goals.If you are coming in late,check this link.By setting the bar too low for oneself we do not grow ourselves as much as we could.

However perfection is far away and when we have our eyes fixed on the horizon,we are not living in the present.There is no sense of urgency.However a smaller goal with a deadline attached to it creates a sense of urgency.

So by all means have long term goals,stretch ones but demarcate smaller goals to be achieved en-route.Add a reasonable due date to achieve these short term goals.And a small trick?Make these goals easy to reach.Think how the WordPress edit page counts in steps of five?It will keep you motivated.And remember to have a way to measure your progress constantly.Measuring something draws your attention towards it.And where attention flows,results appear.Also counting down and thinking about how close you are to the finish will help you focus and keep you going longer.