Today we are talking about how being a goal driven person can help you become very successful in life, work and play. The poster above tells us that we must set goals and work hard to accomplish them. As a coach, teacher, husband, father and mentor setting goals for the team, family and my own life have always been an integral part of the process. I cannot imagine tackling any task without a plan, end goals and dreams. Every season I coach the team and I sit down and we talk about everyone's individual goals, team goals and how we accomplish them. Everyone has different goals in life based on their age, living situation, finances and career goals.
When setting goals you must start with short term attainable goals that steadily clip off time to reach the end long term goal. I teach financial math to my 11th grade students and we cover goals at the very beginning of the class. If they do not know where they are and where they want to go then I am teaching them to fail later in life at goal setting and accomplishing their dreams and visions. If they want to buy a house, then their are processes involved in that with mini steps like saving money, building credit and establishing a good job. Coaches, mentors and leaders must be goal oriented to help drive the team concept, allow the individual players to grow and win in games and life.
Ultimately, as a coach and teacher I have to make sure that I am giving my players, wrestlers, students and others I work with life skills that will help them overcome challenges and make great strides when they become adults. I am in the process of setting team goals and looking at each individual member as our season approaches. We will post those individual and team goals on the board in our workout room and look at them daily. Talking about goals and not writing them down, analyzing them, revamping them and resetting when needed has to take place to get things done.
Below is the simple process of setting good goals that you can manage and attain. I was once told that I was looking to far out and needed to reel things back in because I went from a goal to trying to finish it before I actually worked on small steps to attain them. That advice helped me to bring things back into perspective as a coach and set the tone for success going forward. If my goal is to win a state championship as a coach then I must set mini goals and a plan to reach that goal. You just do not become the head coach, walk into the room and bam three months later you win a state title unless another person left or retired and you inherit that title team. So it begins with a plan, hard work, putting a system in place, recruiting the right kids, scheduling, fundraising, getting parents onboard and so many other things that lead to that eventual title.
As the great Bo Jackson stated above, set your goals, work hard and do not stop until you reach it. Quitting on it is not an option and if you are not willing to take the good with the bad, overcome setbacks and stay on track then that end goal will eventually stop you in your tracks.
1- Specific: Set your goals to meet specific needs, wants and dreams. They must be a specific goal that can be attained. An example of a bad goal is "I will lose weight". That is not specific and lacks the actual end goal. It could be written like this to be more specific. "I will lose 20 pounds in the next four months". Adding that detail gives it more bite and allows you to see the actual goal is to lose 20 pounds and not just lose weight.
2- Measurable: The goal above is not the best written goal but it is specific enough that I could manage it and check the progress daily, weekly and monthly. A goal has to be measurable and manageable to attain.
3- Attainable: Is the goal you are setting attainable? If I were go change the goal above to say "I will lose 50 pounds in two months", then I am writing a goal that will likely not be successful at. A good weight loss plan will allow you to lose 1-3 pounds a week if it tracks well and do it in a healthy manner. To lose 50 pounds in two months that is just setting the bar to high. So it can be adjusted and made a long term goal of losing 50 pounds, but maybe in a time period of 6 months.
4- Relevant: If the goal relevant to meet your needs, wants, dreams, and desires. Make sure to not let the end goal get in the way of the process of accomplishing the actual goal. Like I said above about winning a state title. In order for me to do that I have to build my roster, build my program, win more matches than we have and start by winning maybe the conference title. Then we take the next step of a regional title, then a state title and so on. Not making a goal relevant tends to put a stop on it at some point.
5- Time Bound: Is the goal time bound where you can accomplish it. Just as I wrote about losing 50 pounds fast versus getting that first ten or twenty off first in a specific time frame. The you reset the goal, start again and get another 10-15 pounds off as you work towards that goal of 50 overall pounds. For me to win the state title I need 3-4 seasons to build the roster, experience and dedication to the team and program that it will take to get there. Winning state titles are far and few between so as Bo says, "set that goal and go for it".
Set smart goals, work hard, work smart and go after it with intention. Be intentional in every step you take to become who, what or why you want to be!
God Bless!
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