Stretch goals are exactly what they sound like: goals that stretch you.
They can be in your personal life, your professional life, your health, your finances, your relationships, wherever you want them to be. Usually, they’re things we haven’t done before, or doing more of what we’re already doing now, or even completely changing directions entirely.
And honestly? Stretch goals can feel uncomfortable.
The exciting part vs the reality part
When we first say our goals out loud, it can feel exciting.
Like:
- “I’m going to exercise five times a week.”
- “I’m going to save X amount of money.”
- “I’m going to start a business.”
- “I’m going to move into a different role.”
- “I’m going to get really good at this task.”
And in that moment, it feels empowering.
But then comes the actual process.
The tiny steps.
The 1% improvements.
The doing it repeatedly.
That’s usually the uncomfortable part.
Because sometimes your brain literally has no idea how to get from where you are now to the top of the mountain you’ve decided to climb.
You don’t need the whole plan immediately
There are lots of ways to set goals.
SMART goals, timelines, schedules, vision boards all of it.
But honestly, the most important thing is having some kind of process.
And sometimes that process is simply:
figuring out the first step.
That’s it.
Sometimes the first step is literally researching what you need to do to get there.
Apprenticeships are actually a good example of stretch goals
In Australia, most apprenticeships are four years.
And when you start your apprenticeship, nobody expects you to know everything immediately.
You learn:
- First year basics
- Then build on them in second year
- Then build on them again in third year
- And by fourth year, you should be doing most things independently
It’s a structured growth process.
And honestly, I think we can apply that mindset to almost everything in life.
I always joke that I’m doing:
- an apprenticeship in business ownership
- an apprenticeship in relationships
- an apprenticeship in life
Because an apprenticeship means learning.
And learning takes pressure off perfection.
Why big goals overwhelm us
A lot of goals feel impossible because we only focus on the result.
We look at:
- the mountain
- the finish line
- the big transformation
And we forget to break it down.
So, then our brain goes:
“That’s too hard.”
“I can’t do that.”
“I’ll start later.”
And suddenly we’re having a nap instead of working on the thing we care about.
Breaking it down changes everything
Let’s use a basic trades example.
Say you’re an apprentice doing engine services.
At the beginning, maybe it takes you eight hours to complete a service because:
- you’re learning tools
- learning systems
- checking part numbers
- figuring out positioning
- learning how things feel
But eventually, the ideal time is two hours.
Now if you go:
“Tomorrow I’m going from eight hours to two hours.”
That feels impossible.
But what if instead your goal was:
“I’m going to get 15 minutes quicker each week.”
That suddenly feels achievable.
And over time?
Those 15 minutes add up.
Small improvements compound
This is the part people underestimate.
You do not need to improve by 500% overnight.
You just need consistent improvement.
Even:
- 15 minutes quicker
- 10 minutes quicker
- 5 minutes quicker
- 2 minutes quicker
It all adds up.
If you improve something by two minutes every day, over a month that’s an hour.
That’s huge.
The 1% concept changed everything for me
The idea that you can improve your life 1% at a time honestly blew my mind when I first heard it.
Because suddenly:
- growth felt possible
- goals felt manageable
- progress felt less overwhelming
You don’t have to become a completely different person overnight.
You just need to keep moving.
Stretch goals are supposed to stretch you
That uncomfortable feeling?
It doesn’t mean you’re failing.
It usually means:
- you’re learning
- you’re growing
- you’re doing something new
Which is exactly what stretch goals are meant to do.
Final Thought
If your goals feel big right now, don’t focus only on the mountain.
Focus on:
- the next step
- the next 1%
- the next small improvement
Because massive growth rarely happens all at once.
It happens:
- slowly
- repeatedly
- consistently
One small stretch at a time.
