Setting Goals: For me the New Year is always a time for renewing commitments and establishing goals!
But before we set any goals, it is extremely important for us all to understand the science behind what makes goal setting work.
Setting YOUR Goals: Goals should be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-targeted. Also, goals should not contradict one another. E.g. I want to fight in the cage…. and, I want to get pregnant….
Often times, people get confused about what it means to be, ‘specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-targeted.’ They make a goal like, I want to get my blue belt in 2012. But goals like this rely on another person’s discretion, and therefore are not measurable. Rather, a better set of goals – which would likely lead to a new belt level – are, I will attend ___ classes per week, compete at the ___, and schedule myself to be at ___ seminars and ___ events.
Setting goals affects outcomes in four ways:
- Choice: goals narrow attention and direct efforts to goal-relevant activities, and away from perceived undesirable and goal-irrelevant actions
- Effort: goals can lead to more effort
- Persistence: Someone becomes more prone to work through setbacks if pursuing a goal
- Cognition: Goals can lead individuals to develop and change their behavior
Make A Commitment: Commitments to others make personal goals even more powerful!
Feedback: Unfortunately, goal setting doesn’t usually work unless the person is getting some sort of regular feedback. If you have goals, find others who can provide feedback. Feedback should be constructive, positive, and ultimately should go both ways (the person with goals must also feel comfortable providing the coach with feedback).
To facilitate feedback, I spent a considerable amount of time creating the, “Daily Recorder.” These books will be available later this week, and every one of my MMA athletes must purchase one. While they were formatted for CrossFit, they are marvelous tools for anyone, and give coaches the opportunity to flip through the daily performance activities of their athletes.
