Goal Setting

Goal Setting

Goal setting is a mental training technique used to increase a person's commitment towards achieving a specific standard of proficiency on a task within a specified time. In other words, it is the process of establishing a level of performance proficiency that should be reached within a prescribed time period. It has proven effective in enhancing performance and productivity in many settings — employee exercise programmes, competitive sport and industry — and it provides a basis both for increasing self-efficacy and for giving a task intrinsic worth.

An aspiring athlete may set goals intuitively at first — to make a decent pass, sustain a rally, or simply finish a race. As a career progresses, athletes define specific goals, often building a hierarchy in which a long-term goal is broken into a series of less ambitious short-term goals to be achieved one by one.

Types of Goals

Athletes in sport focus mainly on three types of goals, and effective goal setting depends on choosing the right type for the situation:

1. Outcome Goal — gives priority to the final result of a sporting event, such as winning a championship, a medal or a top rank. Outcome goals are uncontrollable (they depend on opponents too) yet attractive and exciting; they motivate the exhausting preparation needed and keep the "bigger picture" in view.
2. Performance Goal — focuses on an athlete's own achievements, relatively independent of others. These are flexible and controllable, letting athletes raise or lower the difficulty to stay challenged. Example: aiming to score 100 in an innings or make 50 accurate passes in a match, rather than fixating on winning or losing. They help quantify effort and track progress.
3. Process Goal — focuses on the specific behaviour or technique to be executed during training or competition. Example: focusing on the position of the arm toward the target while shooting, or on toe position while jogging. Repeated over time, good process goals build up to performance and outcome goals.

Principles of Goal Setting

1. Make goals specific, measurable and observable.
2. Clearly identify time constraints.
3. Use moderately difficult goals — superior to either easy or very difficult ones.
4. Write goals down and monitor progress regularly.
5. Use a mix of process, performance and outcome goals.
6. Use short-range goals to achieve long-range goals.
7. Set team as well as individual performance goals.
8. Set practice as well as competition goals.
9. Ensure goals are internalised by the athlete.
10. Consider personality and individual differences in goal setting.

Characteristics of an Effective Goal — SMART

Sport psychologists use the acronym SMART to remember five characteristics of well-stated goals:

• S — Specific: it focuses exactly on what is to be achieved (e.g., "shoot 80% accuracy in free throws," not "become a better player"). …