Happy New Year. Now is the time when we set new goals and make our plans for the year ahead, and with this in mind we thought it would be a good time to look at the goal setting process and explode a few myths about S.M.A.R.T. goals. The S.M.A.R.T. (Specific. Measurable. Achievable. Relevant. Timed.) method has become the benchmark for goal setting in all walks of life, but for Sports and Health & Fitness it isn’t necessarily the smartest way to do it. The desire for continual improvement requires us to set goals that are not necessarily specific, and often very difficult to measure. On top of that, our belief in what is achievable changes as we break new barriers and achieve greater levels of strength, fitness, and conditioning. (think of the sub 4 minute mile, or the sub 10 second 100 meters – to name but a few). In the world of Sport / Health & Fitness it is far more productive to set training goals with the emphasis on progress. This type of goal setting allows us to achieve daily goals and monitor our growth and development without sticking rigidly to a specific long term (or even short term) outcome. Let’s break it down and see how it works: Set goals for progress – not specific outcomes. We are constantly being told that we ‘must’ set specific goals, but the reality is that we should avoid specificity in favour of incremental growth (progress). Specific goals are finite and consequently limit our ultimate potential for growth and achievement. They also run the very real risk of becoming ‘de-motivating’ and causing us to feel like we have in some way failed. Progress goals allow for continual and unlimited improvement and give us a sense of accomplishment which motivates us to push harder to achieve more. Progress goals also build belief by giving us quick wins on a regular basis. Measure ongoing progress – not specific outcomes. Progress must be measurable, but it is important that measurement becomes an ongoing process for recognising growth rather than criteria for a definable result. Achieve progress – not specific outcomes. Setting goals that we see as ‘achievable’ encourages us to limit our dreams and think smaller. Our potential should be unlimited and not hindered by ‘realistic’ thinking. In our quest for the impossible dream we can achieve incredible things that may have been missed or ignored if we limit ourselves to our so called achievable outcomes. Progress has to be relevant in order to be called ‘progress’. Ensuring that our goals are relevant is of course extremely important, after all, who has time to waste on unrelated or trivial activities? The key to setting good progress goals is to always make sure that our training is relevant to our desired growth. When setting goals relevant to our ultimate desired outcome we must have the discipline to prioritise the things we ‘need’ over the things we ‘want’. Deadlines are dangerous. Placing a time restriction on a goal does have its merits. It creates a sense of urgency and helps to eliminate procrastination. It can however become a double edged sword, creating a feeling of failure if the deadline is missed when the reality could well be that we have made great leaps forward, we just haven’t hit the mark within the allotted timeframe. When we set training goals we focus on the achievement of that particular training session on that particular day and we feel a great sense of accomplishment each time we do it. This leads to much greater motivation and a strong commitment to the next session. When the training becomes the goal we can set goals that lead to progress, and make progress that leads to success. As Earl Nightingale said: “Success is the progressive realisation of a worthy goal or ideal”.
Posted on: Sun, 04 Jan 2015 13:33:49 +0000
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