A guest contribution from our expert Patrick Thiele about setting the right goals in soccer so that 2021 can be your year.
How many times have you set goals for yourself and finally not achieved them?
We are all familiar with this process: Especially at the beginning of the new year, we are motivated, we set ourselves new goals and 12 months later, we are sobering to realize that we haven't arrived where we wanted to go after all.
But why is that? Are you setting yourself the wrong goals?
Are your goals simply unrealistic or do you lack the right plan to achieve your goals?
In most cases, it is a combination of all of these points.
In the following article, you will find out how to not only set the right goals for yourself in the future, but also achieve them much more reliably.
“Not having a goal comes with a problem: You can spend your whole life running up and down the field without ever scoring.” (Bill Copeland)
If you want to constantly improve, you need goals. But which goals? And how do you best formulate these goals?
You've probably heard something about smart goals. Your goals should therefore be specific, measurable, attractive, realistic and timed.
“I want to be a better soccer player” is therefore not a suitable goal, “I will have scored at least 15 goals by the last game of the season!” But yes.
Sounds really easy right? You just make sure that your Objective clearly formulated is and you can measure it somehow to determine in the end whether you have achieved it or not.
So far so good. But how do you determine the right goal for yourself and how do you manage to work on your goals with motivation throughout the year?
Formulating your goals “SMART” is at the very end of the process, not at the beginning. For many, however, this is often the only step in setting goals, which repeatedly leads to disappointment and frustration.
So let's start from the beginning.
It's not about, “What should you achieve?” or “According to your coach, parents, or teammates, what do you need to achieve?” , but “What do you really want to achieve?”
The basis for successfully mastering your goals is to pursue a goal that was really chosen by you. “Too big, unrealistic...” what others think of your goal doesn't matter.
The important thing is that you really want to achieve it.
Once you know your goal, you should think about what you need to do to achieve it.
What are the individual steps that you need to take to reach your goal? Be aware of which intermediate steps are necessary to reach your goal.
This is the only way you will be able to see the whole way ahead of you and answer the following question: “Am I prepared to make the necessary sacrifices for my goal?”
No matter what you want to achieve, you'll have to give up something else to do. The bigger your goal, the bigger the victim tends to be.
Maybe you'll have to sacrifice time with friends, refrain from parties, or adjust your diet in the future. Every target demands its victims and you should be aware of that before you even start.
We often forget exactly this step and then realize over time that we are not prepared to do without certain things to achieve our goal.
Abstinence always sounds negative for now.
The good news for you, however, is that if you're really pursuing your own goals, then you're usually willing to make sacrifices and won't let that stop you.
Before you start further planning your goals, you should answer an important question: “Are you able to enjoy the journey to your destination?”
Depending on what you want to achieve, it may take a bit longer to get there. If you're constantly dissatisfied on the way to your goal because it's taking too long for you, it's going to be a long, difficult journey.
So learn to enjoy the process, or as Confucius said: “The journey is the destination.”
Here are all the important Overview of questionsso that you can ensure that you have always selected the right goals in the future:
Do I really want to achieve this goal?
What do I have to do to achieve this goal?
Am I prepared to make sacrifices for this goal?
Am I able to enjoy the journey to my destination?
Now that you have clarified your general goal, it is now time to develop a plan that is as precise as possible.
You know your goal, you know where you are right now and can determine exactly which individual steps you need to take to reliably achieve your goal.
In principle, your goal here works like Google Maps. As soon as the destination and location are known, you will be shown the fastest route, except that you have to do the route planning yourself here.
Interim goals are an important step in this regard. Especially when it comes to big goals, motivation is quickly lost over time if you feel that you are not making any progress.
Ideally, you know exactly what you need to achieve every day, every week and every month in order to achieve your big goal in the end.
As a result, on the one hand, you always know exactly what needs to be done and, on the other hand, you always gain small experiences of success.
Each intermediate goal you reach gives you a good feeling. You feel your progress, which in turn motivates you to keep going.
So always try to divide your goal into as many, small goals as possible. This makes things a lot easier for yourself.
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Before you finally start writing down your goals, you should check whether you have found goals for all of the following categories:
Outcome goals
Performance goals
Objectives for action
Outcome goals are, as the name suggests, linked to a specific result.
For example, a certain number of victories, goals scored or games without conceding a goal. A majority of all of our goals are always focused on specific results, but unfortunately you don't always have 100% of this result in your own hands and even if you do everything you can to achieve it, you may miss your goal in the end.
Your coach's decisions may also ensure that you can't play all games of the season and your goal is in jeopardy without you being directly to blame for it.
For this reason, it is important that your goals always focus on specific Services and actions are focused.
For example, you could set yourself the goal of increasing your sprinting speed or improving your jumping power. In order to achieve this, you may have to work specifically on it 2-3 times a week in the future.
Your performance goals therefore automatically result in the objectives for action. The advantage of these goals is that you can make them 100% in control You have.
Even though performance and action goals are just a means to an end and ultimately help you achieve your results goals, you shouldn't miss out on them.
This will make you a better player and get closer to your big goal.
But how big should your goal actually be? In the best case scenario, a bit too big.
This means that the maximum that you want to achieve should still intimidate you (as of today). However, to avoid doubting your goal, you can simply use a Maximum, an optimal and a minimum goal Set.
The minimum goal is self-explanatory. What is the least you want to achieve? In most cases, this goal is within easy reach.
The ideal goal is the point at which you would be really happy with yourself. You could look in the mirror and be proud of yourself.
The maximum goal takes you to a whole new level. You're probably not 100% sure yet that you're really going to achieve this goal, but you already feel in yourself: “It could be possible!”
Just be aware that you're always capable of more than you can imagine right now.
Your maximum goal simply ensures that you aim a bit higher and thus safely reach your optimal goal in the end.
Now that you've gone through the entire process of setting goals for yourself, you can get back to the beginning, because now you've created the right basis for setting SMART goals.
So take on each individual goal and adapt the wording.
A SMART goal would be, for example: “I have improved my mileage over 10 km by 5 minutes by 30.06.2021.”
Here is a brief overview for you in order to SMART method How to use correctly:
S... specific: Your goal should be as clear as possible.
M... measurable: You can measure your progress with times, weights, or the like.
A... attractive: Your goal should motivate you. You want to achieve it.
R... realistic: It should be possible to achieve your goal within the set period of time.
T... scheduled: You have a clear end date on which you want to have achieved your goal.
Perhaps you've already realized that the right goal is a bit more comprehensive than you've assumed so far. But this process will pay off.
Every minute you invest in setting your goals at the beginning saves you days or weeks, if not years, of simply running haphazardly in all directions.
“You've already achieved half of a goal that you've set correctly.” (Zig Ziglar)
Finally, there are two important components missing to complete your goal.
If you only ever think about what you want to achieve, then you quickly lose focus.
It's good to know what your goals are, but it's even better when you've actually written down your goals. Before that, your goal is just a thought in your head. But as soon as you write it down, it becomes tangible and real.
Which brings us to the second point. The purpose of your goals isn't to just deal with them once and then set them aside. As the saying goes, “Out of sight out of mind.”
Yours Goals are forgotten very quicklyif you don't remember it over and over again.
So regularly take a few minutes to internalize your goals again or place your goals in a place within your home where you see them every day, such as on the bathroom mirror or on the refrigerator.
That way, you always have your goals in mind.
For you, the right goals are much more than just something you want to achieve.
They make sure you stay on track.
They motivate you.
They make you happy.
They make you better.
Be fearless. Be focused. B42
Patrick Thiele works as a mental trainer with professional athletes and teams.
His customers include Olympic champions, World Champions and German Champions.
With a combination of 25 years of experience in sports and over 5 years of personal training in the areas of mental training, potential development, stress management and biohacking, Patrick provides the optimal overall package for maximum performance on a mental level.
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