Last Friday, TriAttic posted a discussion concerning motivation and goal setting on the Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=177446268982515&topic=114:
"Don't show up to prove. Show up to improve."
We all have heard sayings like this, and it is very easy to agree with the philosophy. Putting it into practice is entirely different. Pursuing personal goals is a one effective method. Finding and setting personal goals can be hard, and it is even more difficult to make them attainable. Please share your thoughts on how to set personal goals and achieve them!
"Don't show up to prove. Show up to improve."
We all have heard sayings like this, and it is very easy to agree with the philosophy. Putting it into practice is entirely different. Pursuing personal goals is a one effective method. Finding and setting personal goals can be hard, and it is even more difficult to make them attainable. Please share your thoughts on how to set personal goals and achieve them!
I wanted to share my philosophy for setting goals.
Regardless of the level of competitiveness among different athletes, the commitment required to achieve success is very high for the sport of triathlon.
Goal setting is one way of staying committed to the sport. Their are three different goal sets to develop; Long-term goals, Daily training goals, and Competition goals.
Long-term Goals:
When setting the long-term goal, it is important to remind yourself why you enjoy this sport. Long-term goal setting needs to have both intrinsic and extrinsic elements, but long-term goals without the intrinsic components makes goals hard to achieve.
Example questions to ask yourselves:
- What do you enjoy about the sport?
- What is your dream goal, what do you want to achieve?
- What do you need to do in order to achieve your dream goal?
- Which athletic abilities do you need to improve in order to achieve this goal?
- How committed are you to this goal?
- What is your overall goal for the season?
Daily training goals:
After the long-term goal is set, focus on setting daily training goals that will lead to achieving your dream or end of season goal.
When setting daily training goals be SMART about it.
S – Is it Specific?
M – Is it Measurable?
A – Is it Agreeable?
R – Is it Realistic?
T – Is it Time Limited?
When you are setting SMART daily training goals this helps guide behavior and attention and it helps foster confidence.
Competition goals:
Just like training goals, each competition needs goals. Setting different goals for competition can include outcome goals, performance goals, and process goals.
Outcome goals can involve your placement in the race (winning the race, finishing top 3). These goals are great for your long term motivation but can cause pre-performance distractions and anxiety. Performance goals (running a sub-30 minute 5K) and process goals (maintaining form on the run) help to achieve proper focus in competition. Process goals can be set for each discipline and help to keep your mind from wondering to distractions.
Regardless of the level of competitiveness among different athletes, the commitment required to achieve success is very high for the sport of triathlon.
Goal setting is one way of staying committed to the sport. Their are three different goal sets to develop; Long-term goals, Daily training goals, and Competition goals.
Long-term Goals:
When setting the long-term goal, it is important to remind yourself why you enjoy this sport. Long-term goal setting needs to have both intrinsic and extrinsic elements, but long-term goals without the intrinsic components makes goals hard to achieve.
Example questions to ask yourselves:
- What do you enjoy about the sport?
- What is your dream goal, what do you want to achieve?
- What do you need to do in order to achieve your dream goal?
- Which athletic abilities do you need to improve in order to achieve this goal?
- How committed are you to this goal?
- What is your overall goal for the season?
Daily training goals:
After the long-term goal is set, focus on setting daily training goals that will lead to achieving your dream or end of season goal.
When setting daily training goals be SMART about it.
S – Is it Specific?
M – Is it Measurable?
A – Is it Agreeable?
R – Is it Realistic?
T – Is it Time Limited?
When you are setting SMART daily training goals this helps guide behavior and attention and it helps foster confidence.
Competition goals:
Just like training goals, each competition needs goals. Setting different goals for competition can include outcome goals, performance goals, and process goals.
Outcome goals can involve your placement in the race (winning the race, finishing top 3). These goals are great for your long term motivation but can cause pre-performance distractions and anxiety. Performance goals (running a sub-30 minute 5K) and process goals (maintaining form on the run) help to achieve proper focus in competition. Process goals can be set for each discipline and help to keep your mind from wondering to distractions.
Join in the descussion: share your goals, your failures..........
