Goal Setting by Nityananda Atman

Goal Setting  
by Nityananda Atman

Goal-setting can be an important part of any player's training plan, whether their goal is to improve their physical skills, technical skills, tactical skills or psychological skills.

Setting goals is easy; reaching goals is tough.That’s why it is necessary the development of certain psychological qualities such as patience, determination, will power, self-confidenceetc. that can help us be steady with our practice until reach our goals.

When we set goals we must  always remember

"Keep it simple" 

"Be flexible"

"Be open minded" 
"Use common sense"

"Enjoy every moment of your practice"

THE ADVANTAGES OF SETTING GOALS

Create greater motivation and interest.
It helps us to be more methodical and effective.
It helps to have faster results.
It helps us to evaluate our effort and progress.

Motivate us to increase our effort and stick with our plan.
It helps us find our weaknesses.

We become more creative finding new ways and methods to accomplish our goals.

It helps us to be more focused to what is important.

ACCORDING THE TIME WE SET :

 Short-term goals (the goals of the day or week)
Medium-term goals (monthly, quarterly)
Long-term goals (semester, annual, perennial)

ATTENTION

Do not set too many short-term goals. Goal-setting works best when you focus on one goal at a time.  Many people get bogged down by working on too many goals at once.
Do not set unrealistic goals out of reach of your level and time.

Also, remember to be flexible.Sometimes goals need to be modified, especially if you are new at goal-setting.  Changing goals is not a sign of failure; it merely helps you become more specific about what you need to do now, considering information you didn’t have at the time you originally set your goals.

SETTING THE GOALS:

Write down your goals (this one is very important!)

Follow measure  and common sense

Keep the process of setting goals simple.

Create goals for both training and competitions

Set positive, not negative, goals (what you will do, not what you won’t do)

Evaluate the current level of the skills you want to develop.
Set realistic goals regarding the level and time available.Set goals corresponded amount and difficulty to your level. Make goals moderately difficult.

Set specific measurable goals, not abstract. Define exactly what you want to achieve. Use numbers detailing how often, how many, how much.

Decide the means that will use.
Decide the method to follow. 
Set a schedule.
Increase the amount and difficulty of goals gradually (step by step).
Track goal progress.

Be flexible and make modifications or change the goal if it is needed

Review your progress.

Reevaluate goals weekly, monthly, quarterly, annually.
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Use Your “SMARTS”

Time-management consultant Hyrum W. Smith created this acronym to help people remember some of the most important aspects of effective goal-setting.  Keep these things in mind as you create each of your goals:

S = Specific – Run faster is too vague.  Finishing a 10K in less than 45 minutes is specific.

M = Measurable – Quantify goals.  Use numbers detailing how often, how many, how much.

A = Action-Oriented – Goals should imply actions that you need to take.

R = Realistic – Make your goals moderately difficult, but reachable.

T = Timely – Create goals that you can reach in a reasonable time.

S = Self-Determined – Set your own goals, ones that are meaningful to you.