Co-Authored by:
Ryan C. Munoz, MA, CSCS
Director of Operations & Internship Coordinator
&
Eric C. Bringas, MA
Director of Sports Technology
In times of adversity whether it be an injury, a new team, or a worldwide pandemic your preparation will help you achieve the goals you set for yourself. One of the more important aspects of preparation is goal setting.
In 1968 American psychologist published his paper Toward a theory of motivation and incentives. In this paper he found employees are motivated by clear, well-defined goals and feedback, and providing a challenge in the workplace may not be a bad thing.
Locke and Latham 5 principles of effective goal setting
1. Clarity. A goal must be specific and clear.
2. Challenge. An easy or tedious goal is demotivating. But keep a realistic balance: don’t expect anyone on your team to spin straw into gold.
3. Commitment. Your employees have to understand and buy into the goal from the outset.
4. Feedback. Provide regular feedback throughout the whole process. This helps to keep the goal on track.
5. Task complexity. Think about realistic timescales, and break down the process into sub-goals with regular reviews.
A more common way of implementing goal setting into one's life is the SMART principle.
S- Specific- establish a straightforward precise goal
M- Measurable- clear checkpoints one can use to assess whether you're successful in progressing towards one's goals.
A- Attainable - are your goals realistic-- do you have reasonable time, skills, resources to achieve said goals
R- Relevant - what importance does your goal have in your life
T- Time- a specific timeline with which you want to accomplish your goal
These principles can be implemented as a young athlete looking to make a Varsity team in high school, or a young professional fresh off their college athletic career and ready to set goals for their first job in the real world.