Achieve more: How to set New Year goals without disappointment...

At this time of year we are all encouraged to set goals and look forward to the year ahead as a clean slate or a fresh start. The reality of this is that it's not as clean or fresh as we may think, our beliefs, previous experiences and values don't disappear or change overnight. Using the previous year, few weeks, or even days of the previous year to shape your goals is important as you can build and set those small steps:

based on how things have 'actually' been going.

Setting new years goals in sport:

The sport you are in may influence whether or not it is helpful and relevant for you to set New Year goals.

• Season focus - are you involved in a sport that runs in seasons i.e. rugby, football or hockey? If so, you may find that goal setting around August / September in the 'off season or when you have a break. This allows you time to reflect as well as set goals.

• Year round sport - are you involved in a sport that technically runs all year round? e.g. gymnastics, swimming? If so, you may find it useful to align your yearly goal setting with the new year, or you may find it helpful to align it with your clubs shut down (as some take a break at Christmas or in the summer).

• Sport and education - Are you still in school, college, or University spaces. If so you may find it more comfortable to set goals at the start of the academic year.

• Sport and the workplace - Do you work alongside your sport involvement? If so, you may find it more comfortable to align your yearly goals with that space, e.g. the financial year or your annual leave year.

  
  

Tip 1:

Work out your year start and end point. This will tell you whether January is actually a helpful time for you to set your longer term / yearly goals, or not.

Managing your performance expectations:

When we are goal setting in performance environments we often get excited and carried away with our goals. This means we can end up expecting too much of ourselves, this may be in terms of the level of goals we set, or how quickly we are aiming to achieve our goals.

• Balance of ambition and pressure - Goals are all about balance. We want to be ambitious with our goals. This is one of the main reasons for setting goals in the first place, this brings the buzz and excitement. But if we aim a little too high or aim to achieve things too quickly we can end up feeling like we are putting ourselves under too much pressure and become overwhelmed.

• Impact on motivation - When the overwhelm kicks in we can then notice this having an impact on our motivation. One part of motivation that this impacts is competence. If we are frequently falling short of our goals. I.e. we feel we are lacking the ability to do something successfully or efficiently.

• Influence of external influences - When you are setting goals it is important to set them for you and your journey. The temptation is to get influenced by opinions of the people around us, this may be coaches, teachers, family or friends. It's great to have conversations with these people around your goals but remember they are personal to you. You will have your goals and the people around you will have theirs.

Tip 2:

Set your goals for you, so that you can stay focused on your journey, maintain motivation and keep the balance of ambition and managing pressure levels.

Monitor your progress and celebrate small wins:

• Track data where possible - Depending on the types of goals you set this isn't always possible. If your goals are more numbers based and analytical then this becomes easier to do as you have a clear evidence base. e.g. lifting heavier weights in the gym, scoring more goals this season than last season. If your goals are more abstract and less numbers based it is still important to track your improvements, this may come from your own reflections / reviews, or from feedback from your support network.

• Notice and celebrate the small stuff - The small, incremental improvements are the ones that will help you to sustain your motivation in the short term, even when the ultimate / end goal feels a long way off. Again these small steps may be things that you pick up on yourself or may be things you notice as you receive feedback from others.

• Review and reset - In the context of this piece we are talking about yearly goals. As you set these it's important to get an idea of when you will check in and review them. This may be every few weeks, once a month, or at key points in your own year / season around competitions etc. Again the key is to focus on what works for you and notice the areas you are progressing in and those that may need more focus or expectations changed.

Tip 3:

Whether you're tracking numbers, celebrating the small stuff or regularly reviewing your goals all of these things will help you set goals that work for you.

Final thoughts:

• There are a lot of key strategies and focus areas when you are setting goals. The key is around finding approaches that work for you.

• Can you to implement a balanced, patient, and flexible approach to your goal setting this year?

• For us, managing expectations is essential for long-term growth and enjoyment in sport and in life.