Motivation in Sports Through Goal Setting

In sports, coaches and mentors have been providing effective and sound motivation to athletes through goal setting. The practice is being recognized as effective and potent in the sports training scne for the past three decades already.

Because sports training is taken more seriously now by handlers and athletes alike, it is imperative that the athletes be conditioned mentally, emotionally and physically during trainings and practices.

To be able to achieve such targets, there are various techniques and measures that are used to provide motivational devices and tactics to the athletes.

In general, nothing else will come close to the motivation being provided to the athletes by effective and practical goal setting activities.

Motivation and goal setting

Thus, in the contemporary sports arena, motivation and goal settings are two different concepts that are now inter-twined and inter-connected.

That is because goal setting provides motivation to athletes, and in turn, motivation provides goals. The two concepts are really working hand in hand in making the best come out from every successful sportsman or athlete.

Goals that are set by athletes provide them direction, and motivation fills it up with fuel to keep everything---the mind, the body, the determination---going on and on.

Motivation is what keeps athletes going and keep on striving, while goals, set through goal setting activities, put up targets and direction to help monitor and gauge the efforts and initiatives.

Characteristics of good goals

Goal setting, thus, has to be effective and well-planned. There are several attributes of good and effective goals, which should be paid particular and utmost attention to during the tedious and ardent goal setting tasks. Here are some of them.

• Goals must be specific and measurable. They are to be made specific in a sense that particular targets and aims are set. Measurable, when they can recorded and compared to previous performance and records. By that, goals are becoming more effective when looking out at progress and developments in sports trainings and practices.

• Goals must be realistic, but at the same time difficult. Challenging goals provide more motivation and force athletes to strive better and release more effort, making them stronger and more determined, traits that would really be advantageous in the long run.

• Goals must be achievable in the long term or in the short term. There is no sense setting out goals that are practically and logically unachievable. Even if the effort is raised 100 times, 1,000 times or 1 million times, if the they are really unachievable, nothing will do to make the athletes realize them. Short term goals are far better motivation tools than long term, but they can be used to eventually lead to longer-term goals and targets.

• Goals should reflect priorities. Make sure goals are in line and not conflicting with priorities. Otherwise, the efforts to achieve the set of goals would be futile and inutile despite a good and strong set of motivation and determination.

Overall, motivation should, at the same time with goals, get athletes going with greater and more significant focus. Otherwise, measures and actions should be done, or goals reset, to help the athlete attain the much needed concentration.

Motivation fuels goal setting and strategies. Focus make up the steering wheel in the long and winding drive to the attainment of the ambitious and noble goal.

Recognizing The Importance Of Goal Setting

Goals are of great importance because it leads a person to success and achievements. Thus, it is imperative that a person realizes that effective goal setting will point out the clear and vivid difference between great success and humble failures.

Some tips when setting goals

Here are several practical guidelines that would help you set goals effectively.

• Focus on your goals. In the long run you, would surely realize the value and effectiveness of focusing and concentrating to achieve your long-term and short-term goals.

• Have a long view and concept of the outcome or results. Doing so would make your sight futuristic. You would certainly prove to yourself that doing so would never be a waste of time and would help you achieve more determinedly your desired outcome.

• Know yourself better. Be sincere and honest when you think of yourself, your ability, your talent, your skill and your capacity. By so doing, you would be able to avoid the trap of overestimating or either underestimating yourself.

The importance of goal setting

Because goal setting is really an activity that brings about more advantages than disadvantages, it is logical that the concept has its own set of plusses and merits.

The goal setting activity is the time when one’s self is evaluated and assessed. That is why one importance of goal setting is that it provides a venue for one to know himself or herself better.

By knowing oneself better, and humbly admitting shortcomings and realizing talents and skills, one can estimate his or her own capability or capacity, which, in the long run, would be helpful in other and various aspects of life.

Another, goal setting would give you something to measure your progress and would facilitate in evaluating whether you are close or are far from getting or achieving your ultimate target.

That makes goal setting measurable, and that what makes it extra helpful and insightful. By measuring progress and development in one endeavour, you are given the chance to improve and do more when the gauge indicates there are still more effort needed.

Failure

Another importance of goal setting techniques and measures is opening you to the possibility of failure.

By being open about the idea, you are made open minded and receptive to the various and possible causes of pending failures. Thus, when such comes, you would come prepared for it and accept it more flexibly.

Thinking about potential failure would also enable you to do better and conduct measures to actually prevent it from coming your way.

Be informed that there are people who do not want to set their goals because they are afraid of dealing with failures in advance. Optimism could greatly help, but practicality, truthfulness and being accepting of the circumstances and the inevitable would also benefit your greatly.

Overall, expected =results would surely be more appreciated if goal setting is done properly and with utmost care. That is how the activity bears direct and indirect importance to the actual target goal and to other aspects of one’s life.

Employee Goal Setting

If you are a boss or a manager and you have ambitious and great plans to accelerate the overall development and progress of your company or team, the first thing you would logically do is to make sure your employees are on the same sentiment as you are.

The company would not move forward and achieve goals and targets if the team players, the workers or employees that make up the group are not participating or cooperating whole-heartedly.

That is why it is imperative that companies every now and them set employee goal setting activities to help employees better understand the dynamics of the team and motivate them to cooperate in the collective idea and goal of achieving progress and development for the company.

The SMART goals

Thus, before embarking the employees in ambitious and major goals, it is likely and recommended that bosses and managers subject the staff to a session wherein they would be oriented about goal setting.

Experts in the human resources industry know the idea of SMART goal setting. The concept is not to be strictly followed, but adhering to them would help one individual achieve target goals and aims.

The SMART is an acronym that stands for specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timely.

One tool that is widely used by profound and organized corporations and companies around the world is the employee goal setting document forms that are distributed to be filled out by employees.

Sometimes, it would not be practical and effective if the management set the goals for the employees. As a standard and effective practice, employers usually orient staff about the needs and target of the company, and allow the employees to set their own goals to help achieve these targets or aims.

Specific

Employee goals need to be specific so the employees would know the definite and specific activities that need to be accomplished.

For example, if a manager tells an employee “improve client satisfaction,” the employee would still feel a little confused because the order is still broad and too general.

To be specific, the order could still be made specific by telling the employee to be “smiling to all clients when dealing with them.”

Measurable

Being measurable, employee goals should be comparable to other goals. By that, measurability is ensured and set making it easier to gauge the effectiveness of certain goals and measures in achieving them.

Achievable

Of course, when setting employee goals, you should make sure that the goals set are achievable. Otherwise, the planning stage would only made futile and ineffective. Time would only be wasted on thinking and devising ways to achieve company goals that would, in the first place, be impossible to achieve.

Realistic

Employee goals should also be made realistic by infusing concept of practicality, achievability and possibility. Just like how employee goals are made achievable, they should also be made realistic so the attainable ends would be realized by the completion or realization of the employee goal.

Timely

The employee goals should also be set with definite and objective deadlines or time frames. Be reminded that sometimes, deadlines are necessary because they encourage activity and productivity.

Overall, employee goals are necessary because they make up for the overall collective goal that would help the company advance further or accelerate growth.

Time Management and Goal Setting

There are practically two types of people on the workplace. The first type of corporate workers would be those who always find sufficient and ample time to easily do things that should be done.The second type of workers would be those who are always cramming to complete tasks or work things out at the last minute.

A thorough analysis of the situations of the two types of workers would certainly lead you to the idea that the two differ from each other through their time management practices.

As such, time management is very important, especially to people in the workplace who are always bombarded by heavy work loads and different tasks. Each person for sure has his or her own other life aspects like social, life, sex life, family life and spiritual life. Each individual has his or her own set of priorities.

That is why effective time management would really be necessary so people would easily and effectively meet targets and beat deadlines with greater ease.

But it is to be noted that efficient and effective time management would have to entail a greater skill, that is, effective goal setting.

Goal setting and time management

Goal setting and time management are two different concepts, but they are practically inter-related and inter-twined.

Time management would not be effective and achievable without goal setting.

Goal setting, for its part, needs effective time management skills for it to be successfully achieved.

Remember, when managing your time, the first thing you should attend to would be assessing or setting out your list of priorities. Doing so would enable you to carry out tasks that need to be carried out first than the others.

It would be impossible for anyone to set priorities without first setting goals. Priorities are things that should be given primary and foremost focus and attention. The same goes for goals.

Priorities and goals are almost the same in a way that both are the ultimate targets and aims of each individual.

Some useful tips to set goals and manage time:

Here are several simple, logical and practical tips and guidelines to help you set goals and eventually manage your time better.

• Set specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timely goals. Remember the acronym SMART to simplify and unify all these. By doing so, bear in mind always your goals and arrange your schedule in a way that the achievement of these goals would be attained.

• Determine the things or activities that need to be done or carried out in order to attain priorities and goals. By doing so, you would inevitably consider and think about the time frame needed to perform the tasks.

• When arranging your schedule, make sure that the set of activities related to attaining the goals would not conflict with any other important appointments or activities. Make a time table so no deadlines, appointments or important dates would be forgotten or missed out. That could be a great start up to effective time management.

• Assess yourself during goal setting. Humbly and honestly determine your skills, talents, competency and capacity to carry out your desired outcome or goals. Doing so would enable you to estimate the time it would take for you to attain and achieve your goals.

Overall, make sure you focus on your goals and ensure that you always remember the tasks that need to be done and completed on time, so the goals would be achieved also on time.

Effective Goal Setting

Goal setting is a powerful tool in leading whatever endeavor into its reaching its final and full potential.

But goal setting should effective enough than when this goal reaches its fulfillment, the goal itself becomes the fruit.

With the advent of the fever created by a book by Dan Brown, stories suddenly became the focal point of everything. Everything started in a story, they say. When God created the world; it is a story. The other side of this, i.e., evolution, is also a story. Jesus' mission is also a story. And His supposed relationship with Mary Magdalene is a story in itself.

But in all of these, there is a singular tie that binds all of these elements. What is the goal of the Creator in creating the world? Is it a finished or an on-going goal? What was the original goal of Charles Darwin in setting forth the evolution theory? And Dan Brown, setting aside his writing talents, what was his real goal in coming out with such a book?

Everything else being equal, an effective goal setting strategy will spell the difference.

But how to do it?

1. Be clear. If you want a clear and tangible result, then set a clear and tangible goal. When people around you are sometimes confused of what you're up to, what makes you think that what you really want is clear to you, even without a clear goal. Your whole being, all of your senses, should be one in achieving your goal.

2. Be positive. Goals, right from the start, should be positive. It's common to see "tips" in almost everything to be set in two folds: the do's, and the don'ts. You wont need the don'ts. It will only confuse your goal and is in violation of the first principle.

3. Prioritize. If you're up to something bigger, and even a simple one, chances are that you must come up with a list of several goals. But be aware that multiple goal setting sometimes doesn't work. You should have priorities. Put at the top of your list very few goals that are doable at the moment.

4. Classify your goals. Most probably, you really have one goal. But since you're only one of the more than six billion souls inhabiting this planet, you will need to have several goals to help you achieve your ultimate goal. Thus, you will need to classify these several goals into (a) goals that will lead directly to the final goal, and (b) goals that will help in beating the odds that prevent you from realizing your final goal. Concentrate on the first type of classification.

5. Be positive. Believe in your goal. It is common to hear people saying keep your goal to an achievable level. Start with small things. Don't harbor goals that are too big. But hey, this will limit your creativity right from the start. It's true that you must have a list of your goals but it doesn't mean that this couldn't be changed. Even the U.S. Constitution has its amendments.

On this note, its good to touch on a little of this much abused set-realistic-goals mantra. If you would concentrate on this, you would soon realize that your goal is undoable because you're bound to come across with a person with goals that contradicts your goal. When this happens, you only need to go back to your master list, what was the final goal? Then re-arrange the smaller goals that were supposed to lead you to the ultimate goal. Goal setting is more effective in this way.

It is true that goals that are too high need an equally huge investment in your part, but this is nevertheless doable. What you need actually is a little bit of rearrangement among your smaller goals.

Some Simple Guidelines for Effective Goal Setting of Goals

They say that the best opportunities offered to you in life are the very same opportunities you create.

Physics’ law of inertia states that without a force or action imposed on an object, no motion or movement can take place. The same is true with your life.

No pain, no gain. In order to achieve goals, it is imperative that you act yourself. You have to think deeply, dream greatly and act immediately if you want to achieve something in your life.

But how can you do so effectively? Well, there is one major and significant key -- goal setting.

Goal setting

Through setting your goals, you are applying motivation to yourself. Such motivations are aimed as encouragements and inspirations to help you move on and attain that specific target, usually a state of being or a material reward for yourself.

Goal setting is often thought and regarded as an easy task. But you might have probably proven that it is an otherwise excruciating and ardent activity. Thus, it has to be effective.

Goal setting is easy, but the steps and processes to make the goals effective and the measures to achieve these goals are the part of the idea that makes the concept hard and tough.

Be also aware that the way you set your own goals significantly affect the effectiveness and soundness of such goals. Thus it would be advisable if you follow these simple tips on effective setting of goals.

Some tips on effective goal setting

Here are some useful, practical and simple guidelines that would surely help you set your own goals effectively and achieve them.

• Try to set performance goals that are achievable and feasible. Many people fall on the mistake of setting outcome goals that they have really no control over. Performance goals are goals, which can be achieved by sheer determination and action. Outcome goals are usually situations or state of being that sometimes are out of control.

• Be specific when setting goals. By being specific, you have to specify the desired and target outcome of a set of actions or moves. By being specific, you also set measurability of an action, so you can check every now and then the progress you are doing over a goal.

• Be realistic on setting goals. Do not set goals, which are, in general and from the start, impossible to achieve. Adults and analytic people know how to be realistic most of the time.

• Do not aim for the sky. They say, aim for the ceiling instead of the sky, because the ceiling is easier to reach than the sky. By so doing, achieving a goal becomes easier and more motivating. If you want to pursue a higher goal after attaining an initial one, then go for it. After reaching the ceiling, you can now start to aim for the sky. Failures for such goals would hurt more, for sure, so be ready to the endless possibilities.

• Think of your goals over and over. Doing so would enable you to perform a simple reality check. Check on yourself, the situation, the available resources, your skills and the overall backdrop. This would enable you to check on the feasibility and your progress on achieving the goal you have set yourself.

Overall, successful people have attained success because they learned how to meet and achieve their goals. If you want to achieve something or be somebody, start setting your goals. That would provide you with a good and effective start up.

The Benefits of Institution-initiated Professional Goal Setting

Professional goal setting is a commitment of an individual to his profession, or a commitment of an institution to its staff. This is also a pledge of the institution to its target beneficiary, by giving itsthe best service, through comprehensive training of its manpower.

Having said this, professional goal setting, in its very nature, is giving emphasis on enhancing the future performance level of the individual or group. Of course, it is presumed that the group or the individual had prior experience on the process of goal setting of this nature. If there is no familiarity with the process, the goal setting exercise is even more important.

But what does professional goal setting provide for an individual or group? Perhaps the individual, alone or as a part of a group, has a prior immersion with personal or career planning. Why add another goal setting process to an already informed person or group?

The principle behind professional goal setting

The good thing about this form of goal setting when conducted by an institution or a group is that, it focuses not only for the common good of the group but also for the individual members. When facilitated by a competent moderator, the process can be an invigorating experience for each of the member, and to the group as a whole.

It is also common for institute-initiated professional goal setting to include the identification of area that needs development. This area is then put into focus, and relates it to the individual concerned, without losing sight on the constantly evolving needs for individual career planning. The impact of this group planning to an individual is just astounding.

Professional goal setting when done in a group can also offer several schemes to secure resources, which are usually unthinkable for an individual professional.

The institution can also help in sourcing out finances needed by the group or individuals, for their goal planning. Also, the identification of possible obstacles in achieving goals can be extended into details, which is otherwise difficult to achieve when setting up a goal alone. The collective experience of the institution regarding this process can be a rich source of inspiration and intuition.

The benefits of institution-initiated professional goal setting are so immense that joining some of these exercises is never a waste of time.

In fact, this type of goal setting is not only limited to private institutions that are more inclined to do this stuff such as educational and religious institutions, but other as well.

Corporations, huge and small, are now racing against time to incorporate into their calendar of activities, schedules of goal setting for their executives and other staffs.

Harmonizing the company's goal with the career and professional goals of the company employees can be immensely beneficial. This will allow people to be more open, conscientious, thus developing the environment into a more conducive place for professional growth.

This last point is very important because it drives the point against those that advocate individualistic professional goal setting. Of course, setting personal goal is the basis for every collective goal setting but too much concentration on this part will lead into ambitions verging into selfishness.

Admittedly, there are many people who would only want to benefit from the others but not return the favor even in other forms. But even from this, a sensitive person can still benefit-that of learning what not to do.

Goal Setting Theory: What Does It Mean To An Ordinary Person?

In the 1950's, the study of goal setting theory was not a highly regarded pursuit. In fact, the whole array of motivation theory, the forerunner of goal setting theory, is not accepted as a legitimate field of study or discipline.

But today, goal setting theory is not only an accepted science, but also a persistent reality of American everyday life. Whether we like it or not, we are bound one way or the other, with the overwhelming presence of goal setting theory and some of its derivatives.

Suddenly at loss what to do with your life, you often ask how to put some direction to it. Or perhaps, all of sudden, you're questioning the very purpose of your life. When this happens, it might be because you failed to set a personal goal for your general guidance.

Without a clear-cut personal goal, you will feel adrift in an endless sea, undecided on what to do with your talents and other gifts. Personal goal is one discipline of study under the goal setting theory.

Or perhaps the problem is outside the personal milieu. Maybe you're having trouble in assessing the growth of your company. Or even worse, you don't where is the company heeding. If this is happening to you, the only reason for this is that you haven't come up with a business goal setting program.

Maybe you're a top executive for a big company and you're having trouble projecting yourself with others, and not in good terms with your colleagues. Or maybe you're into belief that nothing is happening with professionally; you're stuck with a profession that is really at variance with what you want. If this is so, then you may have missed the process of professional goal setting. You need to undergo with one now.

There is also a possibility that you're having a hard time assessing whether the company you're working with, or even your personal career, is not working as it should be. Because of this, even though you are pretty sure that there is a problem, you can't decide where to attack it. If this is the case, you have a deficiency in setting performance goals.

From the above, it is now very obvious that goal setting is a very important process you need to consider before embarking in whatever endeavor. According to a study conducted in the 1970s, conscious goal setting or planning affects action. From this; a goal is defined as an object of an action.

For instance, you have to attain a specific standard of expertise with your chosen field of profession, then you'll need to undergo extensive training to develop the part of your academic field that is wanting.

Extensive because, usually, goal setting during this period, is really an effort to race against time; to compensate for the lost opportunities earlier and to set a professional goal.

Goal setting, therefore, is a set of skills that can be learned or acquired, which is important for achieving different types of effects necessary for specific desires.

Ultimately, however, the most important factor in goal setting is your gut feel. Even without the benefit of any scientific theory regarding the benefit of goal setting, deep within, you know that somehow, you need to come up with a clear goal to succeed in life.

Some Easy Steps on Financial Goal Setting

It is a well-known and accepted fact that the greatest problems affecting and hounding the generation of today is more of financial.

As people say, money makes the world go round. Thus, financial difficulties and issues make up the challenges that directly hinder peaceful and happy existence of mankind in the face of the planet.

Thus, the ability, skill and talent to manage the financial aspects of one’s life is very essential and helpful in the context of the contemporary times.

That is why setting goals to achieve financial targets and aims is very necessary and should be done every now and then to ensure that each individual is on his senses in managing and keeping his financials afloat.

Here are several simple and practical tips or steps when you are embarking on a financial goal setting task.

• It would advisable if you would write down the specific financial goals that you ultimately want to achieve over time. You can get a piece of paper and write them all down, then keep the paper where it can be easily found.

You can post at the door, your headboard, the wall, or even at the door of the fridge. That would make the written financial goals easily read, thus, they would serve as constant reminder of the financial aspects you aim to achieve in the short or long run.

• Break down the goals into short-term goals and long-term goals. Short term goals can be achieved and attained overnight, over a short span of time or even within hours. They are easily achievable and are often more specified and directly stated.

On the other hand, long term goals are to achieved or attained within longer range of time, usually, months, years, or often, indefinitely. Patience and determination are ought to be kept when keeping or maintaining long term goals. You can manipulate both by setting short term goals that would eventually make up or lead to longer term goals.

• Invest on education and research when setting financial goals for yourself. If you want to accrue interests for your savings over time, make sure you do proper research about the tools and investment vehicles where you could put money, and where that money would significantly earn interests.

Buying financial magazines and books or attending crash courses and seminars would sometimes make up for costly investments, but for sure they would definitely be worth it.

• Every now and then, devise measures and techniques on how you could evaluate your progress when it comes to the achievement and efforts in achieving your set financial goals.

The activity might sometimes be tedious and pressuring, but it would surely help keep you on track and monitor the development. You can thus easily pinpoint measures and activities that are effective and thrash or stop those that are not helping in any way.

Overall, if you find that your financial goals are really hard to achieve, and you are not advancing on your progress to achieve or attain them, every now and then, try to assess yourself, your determination and the potential effectiveness of the financial goals you have set.

Starting all over again and shifting into more practical and effective financial goals, even if it means going through the whole process of goal setting once again, would in the end, prove to be very beneficial.

Eventually, there would be not stopping you from realizing the financial goals you have so desperately been trying to reach.