I am a firm believer in stretch goals that require you to step beyond your comfort zone, yet I must caution that there is a fine line between stretch goals & unrealistic ones. Stretch goals set us up to #win, unrealistic goals set us up to fail. Who wants to fail? NO ONE. But we unknowingly set ourselves up to fail all the time!

Should we challenge ourselves? Yes.

Should we push ourselves to do a little more than we think we are capable of doing? Double yes!

I tell my clients all the time, “you are stronger than you think.” And they are. But strong does not mean that there are no limits. Before you set a goal, do a reality check.

Say you want to lose 25 pounds by a certain date and a part of your plan is to exercise an hour a day 5 days a week. Is this a stretch goal or an unrealistic one? Let's ask some questions to find out…

1) Does your current schedule allow for 1 hr. of exercise a day?

2) If not, are you prepared to give up something in another area of your life to dedicate that 1 hr.?

3) If you do reallocate that 1 hr. that you are currently using for something else – are you okay with the consequences of that decision?

If making these types of adjustments does not seem possible, will require a herculean effort, or will create gaps in other areas that you are not prepared to deal with, you are setting yourself up to fail.

Why set a goal where your chances of succeeding are slim?
Why feel guilt and shame every week when you miss the mark?

Why not set your goal at 20-30 minutes and feel the exhilaration of succeeding every single day?

Goals should be comfortably uncomfortable. Yes, at times that will be a little stressful but be careful not to take it too far.

​When you want to set yourself up for success - think stretch.

Until next time,

Coach Tam