The art of setting goals
First things first, let's get one thing straight: it's okay not to always know what our next goal is. In fact, it's even better that way. The current off-season is the perfect time to stop and think about the season ahead and our next targets. Since our actions aren't necessarily guided by a specific goal, we're less likely to be on autopilot. This can create a space, even a void. We may be tempted to fill it quickly by setting new goals without thinking too much about it. This is a trap. We must embrace this void. This space is necessary to reflect on what we want to accomplish in the coming year and, above all, to consider the reasons that guide us in this choice. It is through this reflection that we will be able to set motivating goals.
What to choose, but above all, how to choose?
A goal represents a future target that can be achieved. It's motivating! Especially when it's specific and requires hard work to achieve. Scientific research shows that specific and ambitious goals lead us to perform better, allowing us to train and compete successfully and enjoyably. They increase our motivation by encouraging us to work harder, be more persistent, focus our attention better, develop our abilities, and refine our skills.
But the process sometimes fails. Have you ever:
• Set yourself a specific, ambitious goal, only to see your motivation wane or disappear over the course of the year?
• Set yourself a specific, ambitious goal, thinking it would create a lasting sense of accomplishment, only to end up feeling empty?
This is because the goal must be specific and ambitious, but it must also be a tool that serves a deeper purpose. It must serve to bring you closer to who you want to become as an athlete, and even as an individual. It must bring to life the qualities and strengths you want to develop in yourself.
For example, you may find it important to be persistent. You set yourself the goal of training to increase your VO2max by X. Let's say you're going through a slump. Winter mornings are dark and cold. You feel like skipping a few workouts. The urge to slack off is not far away. In these circumstances, it may be difficult to push yourself and suffer for "a VO2max." But if you know that this goal will help you become a more persistent athlete, you will find new life in this slump in motivation, knowing that it is precisely to experience and get through these moments that you chose this goal. It is your desire to demonstrate your perseverance that will take over and fuel your motivation.
So, asking yourself what qualities or strengths you value will enable you to set a specific and ambitious goal that will motivate you to achieve a target (reach the podium, win a medal on Strava, achieve a PB), but above all to fulfill yourself by training to achieve it. In other words, you will develop strengths that align with what you deeply want to be in sports as well as in all areas of your life.
A significant advantage: it will protect you from the trap of chronic dissatisfaction with goal setting, which occurs when we move from one goal to another believing that achieving goals will be enough to satisfy our need for long-term satisfaction and happiness. Achieving a goal is momentary. But acting in line with your values is something you experience in the present moment, throughout the journey that takes you from point A to point B. If this journey is in line with your values, your satisfaction will last over time. Whether the goal is near or far, you can always hold on to the thought that you are taking action, fulfilling yourself in achieving the goal, and getting closer to the athlete you want to be.
Practical application
To get started, you can identify what you value (strengths, qualities). Then, you can set a goal that will allow you to live according to what you find important. Or, conversely, you can start with the goal you want to achieve and ask yourself what can come out of achieving it—and the path to get there.
Reflection 1
What strengths and qualities do you already have? Which ones would you like to develop further? How would you like to apply them in your life and your sport?
Reflection 2
Imagine yourself a year from now, looking back on the past year. Imagine that you chose the right goal and became the person you deeply wanted to be. What qualities or strengths (such as courage, perseverance, commitment) did you develop or use? How?
Reflection 3
Set yourself a goal. Now imagine that you achieve that goal. How would you change? What would you do differently? Does this goal bring you closer to what you want to be? Does it lead you to put into practice the qualities or strengths that you want to develop further in yourself?
References
Burton, D. and Weiss, C. (2008). "The fundamental goal concept: The path to process and performance success," Advances in Sport Psychology (3rd ed.), Champaign, Human Kinetics, pp. 339-474.
Harris, R. (2019). ACT Made Simple ( 2nd ed.), Oakland, New Harbinger Publications.
Locke, E. A., & Latham, G. P. (2002). "Building a practically useful theory of goal setting and task motivation. A 35-year odyssey," American Psychologist, vol. 57, no. 9, pp. 705-717.