Stretch goals are similar to SMART goals but with one difference, you dispense somewhat with the attainable metric. The aim here is not to place a goal on the table which is so far out of your reach that you become demotivated by failure; rather it is there to give you something to strive for (although you are very likely not going to quite manage it).
SMART goals leave people with the tendency to be overly conservative, therefore to take longer than needed to achieve an aim, but a stretch goal set alongside a SMART goal allows for over-achievement. Let’s use weight loss as an example following the same process but adding to it.
- Aim: Maintain a healthy body that makes me feel attractive for the rest of my life
- SMART goal: Drop 4 dress sizes by my wedding, meaning I can wear a size 16. This is the least I need in order to meet my aim
- Stretch goal: Drop 8 dress sizes by my wedding, meaning I can wear a size 12. This would be amazing
- Final outcome: Individual drops 6 dress sizes. They fall short of their stretch goal, but exceed their lower and more reasonable expectations. If they had only set a SMART goal there is a good likelihood that they would have made smaller changes, lost weight slower and ended up only meeting the minimum level needed to be happy. Stretch goals led to a better result overall by pushing the potential outcome