A couple of days ago, I wrote about focussing on your future self. Thinking about where you want to go instead of just doing email is hard, especially when you have no big goal in mind.

One way to get a feeling of where you want to go is to stretch yourself a little bit. With a stretch goal, you’re going to extend yourself beyond what you can do. The trick is to pick something that it outside of your current skill set, but not too far. It should be a little discomforting but still attainable.

This is focussing on your future self: working on something outside of your comfort zone won’t give you results right away, but it will definitely help you grow in the long term. This means putting in the hard work now.

Okay, to give you some inspiration:

• Talk to someone you would normally avoid
• Take a different route or transportation to work
• Take a class on a subject where you have an interest but no expertise (Coursera, codeacademy, Khan Academy are all great sources)
• Pick up a book about something you know nothing about
• Join a meetup about an unknown topic
• Visit a museum on a subject that you know nothing about
• Learn to play a new game
• Go to a concert of a different style of music than what you normally listen to
• Watch a sport you don’t understand
• Try playing an instrument you never played before
• Start a new 30 day project

There are plenty of ways to do something new and exciting, while you’ll learn at the same time. Give it a go!