Set goals that motivate you. When you set goals for yourself, it is important that they motivate you: this means making sure that they are important to you, and that there is value in achieving them. …
Success in sports, as in any other achievement arena, depends on both skill and motivation and motivation includes striving for particular goals.
1. Make a bold move towards a goal– Sometimes we just need to throw our hats over the wall and take a big risk for big rewards. For example, many people’s dream is to leave their corporate jobs to pursue a hobby that has been a passion and they just need to figure out how to make it happen. The first step is to set a S.M.A.R.T. goal, a goal that is specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-limited.
Here is an example: I will leave my corporate job by September 1, 2018 to pursue a freelance writing career.
Just make sure the goal is realistic and achievable within the timeframe you set. Then create a plan with action steps. Now take one small action everyday towards your goal, or at least once a week. Before long, you will have made real progress and feel good about yourself too.
2. Set specific goals in terms that can be measured.
Specific goals are more effective in improving performance than are general “do your best” goals or no goals at all. An effective goal clearly indicates what a person needs to do to accomplish it. This means that you must be able to measure the performance that relates to the specific goal. For example, it should be possible to measure how much an athlete has improved on a specific skill or task.
3. Organize and prioritizeWhen you look at everything you want to achieve all at once, you might find it daunting and overwhelming, so it’s best to organize and prioritize your goals. Instead, devise a workable plan for each item you want to accomplish. You know that your health goals need to be ongoing ones, so establish a daily routine or agenda that you can keep up on a regular basis. For career goals, categorize them; in monthly, quarterly or yearly chunks. List points, or plan the actions required to attain a particular point in your career. This may include taking the odd supplemental course, doing extra reading, or volunteering in the community in order to get exposure and experience. Since careers take time and effort to build, planning and organizing your moves makes good sense.
4.Stay focused and motivated. Staying focused and motivated is probably one of the hardest things to do when setting goals. It is common to periodically fall off the wagon however, it is essential to get back on track as soon as possible.
A great tool for keeping you focused is the journal or workbook you’ve been maintaining. Go over it regularly as a reference point and to remind yourself what you want to accomplish. Set up routines or habits that will ensure you stay on track.
5. Take Some Time Off
Part of living a balanced lifestyle is having regular times off. Taking a vacation at least once a year can help you get into a different situation and remind yourself who you are—outside of your responsible roles. Vacations help you to get back in touch with yourself and discover new parts of yourself, as well as just sitting, relaxing, and thinking of nothing. While this can also be accomplished with meditation and other activities, nothing does it quite so easily and enjoyably as a vacation. When you return, you’re usually at least somewhat happy to get back to your life, and such times off can be good burnout prevention. If you haven’t taken time off in quite a while, you’re putting yourself at an increased risk for burnout.
So far, you may be getting an idea about how your lifestyle may be contributing to your stress level and burnout risk.
