The Importance of Setting Goals
Setting realistic and achievable goals are critical to any swimmer’s success. Coaches will work with swimmers to establish realistic goals based on each swimmer’s performance in the water, and personal commitment. A goal of shaving 10 seconds off a race time may be unrealistic and difficult to achieve. However, a goal of shaving 1-2 seconds off a race time is manageable and attainable. Reaching those goals helps swimmers celebrate success and move forward in achieving new goals.
Here are ways to assist in goal setting:
- Be Specific: Without a clear target to aim at, it can be difficult to grasp and focus on a goal. “I want to be successful”, or more specifically to swimmers, “I want to win Champs” is an example of an open-ended and vague goal. As aspirational as this goal may be, you don't specifically know what time you will have to race to win. Pick a time. Write out the splits. How fast your start will have to be. Take that goal and make it as real and unmistakably clear as possible. Pick a date you are going to do it. Give yourself as clear a target as possible so that there is no leeway or guessing as to what you want to accomplish.
- Build a Framework for the Achievement of Your Goal: Goal setting offers you a peek behind the curtain of what it will take to accomplish your goal. What's your goal for this season? Champs “A” time? Best time? Make a practice group? Surely you have a good idea of roughly what type of time it will take to make this happen. With that end result in mind, it's necessary to work backwards. What is missing right now that you will need to achieve this goal? What are the areas in which you can improve? List them all out so that there is no confusion about what you need to improve to get close to that goal. Having that big goal in the horizon, particularly those year-end goals, can be daunting to the point of being overwhelming. Instead, focus on the building blocks that will get you there.
- Monitor and Evaluate: No matter how well we think we know ourselves, and no matter how well we plan, invariably our path changes course. Perhaps we get injured, our motivation lags, or we simply don't “feel like it” anymore. In those moments of struggle it is necessary to step back and evaluate. Where are you falling behind? Are you doing everything necessary to insure that the progression towards your goal is proceeding? Were you unrealistic in your original goals? Don't allow setbacks to derail your goal. Evaluate, snip at the parts of your life where you aren't doing so hot, and escalate the things that are working well. Reload and refocus.
- What Are You Willing to Invest?: At this point most goal setting guides would ask you, “What are you willing to sacrifice?” Sacrificing activities for something you love isn't a sacrifice at all, it's an investment. How likely you are to achieve your goals is impacted directly by what you are willing to invest in it.
