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Goal setting and how to plan.Why do you need to have a goal?
Research done on former Harvard students concluded very clearly that those students who were planning their lives and careers where accomplishing much more than those students without any plans or goals at all. The main objective with goal setting and planning is to repeat the plan and goal over and over again. By repeating many repetitions during your planning work you will gradually build dominant memory traces or "files" in your brain (subconscious). Your goals and plans will then gradually be accepted by you-both on your conscious level as well as on your subconscious level. This idea may sound a bit silly to you, but this is really a normal reaction because it takes time to get used to this new way of thinking and working. Just think about your self and your life. How many times have you told yourself that something was easy to do, but with the result that it did not help just by saying "This is easy". The difference here being that it is not a one-time job to change and convince oneself about something. It is a process that takes time. The challenge behind this process is that you do not accomplish something just by expressing the statement one time: "This is easy to do!". The point is that you need to be convinced not only on your conscious level, but also on your subconscious level. It is this acceptance on your subconscious level that takes more time, and most people are not aware of his. These ideas are covered more fully in the Mental chapter. How to define your goal(s)!You should always have an ambitious goal. You should be "stretched" a bit in your work. But remember a goal is always subjective, what is ambitious for you does not mean it has to be ambitious for others; it can be totally out of reach for other people. If your goal is too low, relative to your level, you can reach it too easily. On the other hand, if you put your goal on a totally unrealistic level, you can end up by not being even close to achieving it with just frustration as the end product. Your goal should be as specific as possible, and you should be able to quantify it in some way. In this way you are able to get feedback on the progress towards your goal, and you are able to adjust it if you do not get the expected effect. At the same time, the goal should be ambitious, but also realistic, within the framework available and possible for you. Few of us are planning to set world records, but for some it is a realistic goal. In other words, the goal has to be close to your comfort zone. If it is too far away, your inner protest will be too strong. Your goal has to be within the bounds of your self-confidence, if not, it is much harder to get self-acceptance for it. In sport this means that you have to work both physically as well as mentally. In professional training, you train your body hard while at the same time working on your mental goals and planning strategy. On progress towards your goal you should have several temporary goals or "part-goals". These temporary goals will then take you step by step towards your final goal. By splitting them up like this there will always be a part-goal in the near future to focus on in addition to the long term and final goal. The final goal should have a realistic time frame, otherwise it will only produce frustration. Normally, we have two types of goals: result goals and process goals. A result goal is a specific goal like "I shall win that competition" or "I will have certain result in that competition". The problem with this type of goal is that the result is dependant on many factors outside your control, such as the competitors, the weather, the organizer etc. Because of this, it is useful to have more than only one result goal. You should also have some process goals as parts of the final result goal. By including these process goals your motivation will be better because, after all, there is little you can do about the weather, other competitors etc. The process goals describe goals that you are fully in control of. They can include your skill, technique, time spent on training, priorities etc. Normally, we recommend that you use both types of goals. The final result goal will then become the basis for determining the intermediate process goals. This process should be defined in an analysis that is based on where you are in your present stage of training and then asking what skills, qualities or process goals you have to develop in order to reach the final result goal. You should start with a plan for yourself where you envision what you want to achieve in your life. This life vision becomes the fundamental basis for your goals and planning. The plan should have, as mentioned, realistic time frames, and it should have part-goals spread evenly over the whole time frame. Such a plan will of course cover a long time period; it can easily take several years. Split up your plan into daily work sessions, and remember to include your family in your plan; this is also part of the holistic way of thinking. How to reach your goal or goals?We will be using the technique we have covered in more detail under the Mental chapter. A brief summary of the methods covered there concludes that you have to repeat your goal over and over again in order to create an acceptance for it on both your conscious and subconscious levels. When you have succeeded with this, you will suddenly, or gradually, experience a breakthrough. Things actually start to happen, and you will reach your part goals or your final goal. What do clear and concrete goals actually do for us?Your plan and goal setting work will help drive your motivation, and will hopefully put positive pressure on you in your daily training. This work will give you an edge and will help commit you to go for it: your final goal. At the same time, the whole process will increase awareness and be a good maturing tool. This process will change your conduct and personality, and it will improve your results in whatever you do. Remember to include the possibility of disturbances in your planning and goal setting work. It is guaranteed that unexpected things will happen on your way towards your goal. By including this in your planning, you will hopefully tackle the unexpected better when it comes, and we guarantee it will always come. Thank you to Alan Traister, he has helped us with the English language in this chapter! |
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Think
about your goal, whatever it is, as a geographical place. To reach your goal, you
have to define its position and then you will able to navigate right towards it. We use the lighthouse as a symbol for
goal setting and planning work; it tells you where to navigate to reach your goal or goals.