For today’s blog I would like to talk about Goal Setting. I honestly believe that proper goal setting is a leading factor that separates the good athletes from the great.
Goal setting provides an avenue for athletes to define their purpose and direct their motivation and intensity. It is hard to define success or failure without first creating goals. The goal setting process is dynamic and never-ending. Sometimes goals need to be changed on the fly, for better or worse, and once a goal time frame has reached its end, new goals must be made. Obviously, goal setting is important for athletics, but also equally important in all aspects of life including school, work, social life and even leisure activities.
There is a lot that goes into proper goal setting. For starters, we need to understand the three types of goals. First, Outcome Goals are large goals that are trying to be accomplished by the end of a time frame. Outcome goals are the most uncontrollable type of goal, and because of this should not be focused on often and rather used as motivation. Examples of outcome goals could be a certain place or time, a number of cuts or points scored, or a goal that the entire team shares like winning a championship. There are many uncontrollable factors that dictate the outcome, like how competitors will compete and what the environment will be like, which is why it is not recommended to focus on these types of goals.
Next, Performance Goals are used as checkpoints to assess progress towards an outcome goal. Performance goals are more controllable and therefore should be focused on more than outcome goals. Examples of these could be in-season goal times, executing race strategy and achieving specific splits in races. There are still a number of uncontrollable factors, but performance goals are a great way to see if an athlete is on track towards an outcome goal.
Lastly, Process Goals are goals that the athlete has the most control over and should hold a majority of an athlete’s focus. Process goals are smaller and more easily achievable. Examples could be sticking to a certain kick count off each wall, not breathing on breakout strokes, or finishing an entire set without getting out. While these goals sometimes seem minuscule, they couldn’t be more important. Completing these goals day in and day out is what progresses an athlete towards achieving their performance and outcome goals.
To demonstrate the importance of priorities in goal setting I’ve created a Goal Pyramid. The pyramid depicts process goals as a large base offering stability for the rest of the pyramid to be built, the performance goals which hold a solid structure to support the top, and the outcome goals coming to a point. This illustration shows that one row of goals cannot be completed until a solid row below it has been completed.
I also speak of the 85-10-5 rule which explains that an athlete should focus on process goals 85% of the time, performance goals 10%, and outcome goals 5%. Too often athletes get lost in an outcome goal and forget to perform the work necessary through process goals to achieve their outcome goal. This is why I coach athletes to use outcome goals as motivation. An example of this is an athlete setting a goal to win state in the 100 fly. This athlete will then think “I really want to win state, which means I have to start taking 6 kicks off every wall, work on my open turns, breath less” etc. Simply “working harder” isn’t always the best way to reach goals, instead focus on the process.
I could go on and on about goal setting, why it is important, and how to properly set them. To get more information that I have to offer (like what Cascading Motivation and SMART goals are, and how to Recommit to new goals) become a client, sign up for Performance Consultations, and check out my Resources tab on my website!
I’ll sign off this blog with a quick personal goal setting story. As a freshman at the University of Minnesota, the Gophers hosted the Big Ten Championship. I fought all year for THE LAST spot on the roster for the Big Ten Conference meet. During the 200-freestyle relay, I anchored us to a gold medal and a new Big Ten record. But, more importantly my teammate, Michael Richards, lead off the relay in a new individual Big Ten record of 19.05. Later that night, eating dinner with my dad, I told him, “not only will I take down Michael’s record, but I want to be the first swimmer to break 19 seconds.”
That was one heck of an outcome goal. But with my focus where it should be, I used that goal as motivation to check off performance goals (like goal times at the end of my sophomore and junior years) and daily process goals (breaking out with my opposite arm, racing no breath 50s, stronger legs, better recovery, etc.). After three years of training, I became the first Big Ten swimmer to break 19 seconds by going an 18.95 at NCAAs (leading off a 200 free relay just like Michael did my freshman year!).
Long-term lofty goals are great to set, as long as discipline is used to keep the focus where it must be. So, I ask my Excel Athletes, what are your goals?! Are they structured properly? Is your focus where it needs to be? If not, I’m here to help.
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