The ‘How To’ of Goal Setting
We all have hopes and dreams to accomplish in our sport; earn a higher score, qualify for Nationals, become a member of the National Team, or maybe even compete in the Olympic Games. In my experience, and with many sources of influential and successful people to back me up, creating goals is one of the most successful ways to get yourself on the right track to achieve these dreams.
In the words of Pablo Picasso, “Our goals can only be reached through a vehicle of a plan […] upon which we must vigorously act. There is no other route to success.” So… should we write some goals?
I would say, YES! Let’s Do IT!
Although this process may look a little different for each individual, here are some tips from the great George T. Doran and Professor Robert S. Rubin, the founders of the ‘S.M.A.R.T.’ Goals approach; a quick-and-easy, 5-tip strategy for goal writing.
S - Be Specific! - Clear. Well defined. Precise.
Indicate EXACTLY where you want to end up.
M - Measurable – Give yourself a deadline and quantify the measuring stick in order to rate success.
CAUTION: In the case of Artistic Swimming, avoid utilizing subjective scores or criticism from judges or coaches as standards for measurement as these can, unfortunately, change from association, region, zone, and even country to country.)
A - Attainable – Create a realistic goal that is also challenging.
If the goal is unrealistic, it may leave you unmotivated or with feelings of defeat. If the goal does not require hard work to complete, once achieved, it can be anti-climactic.
R - Relevant – Set a goal consistent in the direction you want your life or your season to go.
Focus your goals in that consistent direction
T - Time-Bound – You must have a deadline.
With a heightened sense of urgency, the achievement will come much quicker!
Once you have your S.M.A.R.T. goals ironed out, I want you to read them out loud.
ARE YOU AFRAID?
Did they make the hair on your arms stand on end?
Do you have goosebumps?
Did your heart rate rise a little bit?
Does anyone have ‘nervous pee’?
If not, your goals may not be set high enough. Remember, your goals need to challenge and
motivate you. They need to force you to LEVEL UP. If they don’t scare you to some degree,
they are not forcing you to grow.
I encourage you to pause at this step until you have ironed out goals that elicit some sort of
sympathetic nervous system response (fight or flight) before continuing. If you answered yes to
any of the above questions, let’s continue…
WRITE THEM DOWN:
In order to keep ourselves accountable, goals should always be written. Yes, that means some
of you may need to dig out that ol’ pen and paper or figure out how to work the pencil
sharpener. ;)
Writing goals on something tangible gives us…something tangible. Our goals are no longer a
floating thought in our heads. They are now real. Real goals are achieved goals.
While we are writing out our goals, double-check they are written in positive wording. ‘Would
like to’ and ‘try’ should be omitted and replaced with ‘I will.’
PUT THEM TO ACTION:
The last, most missed step is to put these goals into action. This will require
developing an action plan by breaking down your goals into bite-sized pieces. Instead of
focusing on the finish line, you will have smaller finish lines to focus on each day or week to
encourage focus, motivation, and success on your journey. It can be extremely helpful to
include your support staff (coaches, trainers, parents, and/or teammates) in your goal setting and
action plan in order to have support along the way.
After reading this, if you haven’t started writing your goals yet, I will leave you with this statistical evidence from Harvard University. According to this study, people who set goals were 10x more successful than those without goals.
https://hbr.org/2015/02/increase-the-odds-of-achieving-your-goals-by-setting-them-with-your-
spouse
Set goals. Mic Drop.
Sources:
https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newHTE_90.htm
https://www.elegantthemes.com/blog/business/smart-goals