Athletes Must Never Set Goals Without a Logical Process
Nearly all athletes have goals, but very few have goals that increase their performance. This is why all goals are not created equal. This is also why athletes must never set goals without a logical process.
Firstly, the process for setting a goal must start with motivation. If a goal does not provide motivation, then what’s the point, right? This seems like common sense; however common sense is not common. How many people do you know who set goals then do little to nothing to change their behaviors to achieve that goal? Or, who change temporarily only to revert to their old ways? That is a sign of a goal that is not motivating.
For a goal to provide motivation it must be a short-term goal. This does not mean athletes shouldn’t set long term goals to provide direction for short term goals. This only means that long term goals are not as motivating to drive behavior changes. Generally speaking, a short-term goal that provides motivation is a goal that is attainable within a single season or shorter.
Secondly, the process for setting a goal must provide athletes with guard rails to self-regulate their behavior. To do this, the goal setting process must provide a specific action plan for reaching the goal. When goal setting includes this process, it’s easy for an athlete to continuously evaluate progress and lack there-off. In turn, the ability to continuously evaluate progress then leads to the awareness an athlete needs to self-regulate their behavior.
Simply stated, motivation and self-regulation are two key ingredients to increasing performance. Moreover, if a goal does not provide these two characteristics, then that goal isn’t worth a grain of salt.