Virtually every Olympic athlete shares the same goal: winning the gold medal. (Although a few seem to be there just for the parties – we’re talkin’ about you, Bode).
Seriously, though, the interesting finding from research by sports psychologists is that successful athletes set goals in a very specific way that is far more precise and detailed than just setting one big goal.
The best news: we can all use the goal-setting strategies of elite athletes to achieve more https://npfinancials.com.au/in our everyday lives.
Here’s the most crucial principle: supplement the big, long-term goal with specific, challenging, near-term goals. Then focus more of your effort and attention on those near-term goals.
An athlete who wakes up each day to focus only the gold medal (or the Super Bowl, or the World Series, etc.) will quickly become overwhelmed. He or she will start to wonder: How can I get from here to there? As two experts on sports psychology, May and Veach, put it: “Repeated daily focusing on long-term goals is often counter-productive. The focus is too far into the future and prevents the athlete from completing the intermediate steps essential to ultimate success.”
What happens when you focus on near-term goals? According to the scientific research, lots of good stuff, including…
– Heightened performance and success
– Greater likelihood of accomplishing goals and making life changes
– A stronger sense of confidence and self-efficacy
– More determination and persistence, particularly after setbacks
– More enjoyment and intrinsic interest in the topic
What happens when you don’t set near-term goals, or focus too heavily on long-term goals? I call it “goal-mismatch,” and it’s a perfect recipe for procrastination and rumination – thinking about goals, but not taking action toward goals. It’s also a recipe for general unhappiness. People who focus too much on their long-term goals view those goals as more difficult, more pressure-filled, and less enjoyable, while their near-term goals seem less relevant and satisfying.
Who avoids goal-mismatch, and successfully leverages the power of near-term goals? The scientific research points to m