Goal-setting is an indispensable part of any sport. By setting appropriate goals, you might find it easier to continue practicing and competing. Set your goals to follow easy-to-remember guidelines, and chose goals in which you have considerable control over the outcome.
SMART Goals
SMART is a popular goal-setting acronym that stands for Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Realistic and Time-based. You can also add Exciting and Recorded, to create SMARTER goals. SMART serves as a guide to help you develop goals that are useful. For example, vowing to play better this season is not a specific or measurable goal. A goal to score more touches in your next fencing tournament is specific, and measurable. You presumably know when your next tournament is, so you know how much time you have to work on this goal.
Goal Setting Theory
SMART and related acronyms derive from goal-setting theory. To be effective, goals must motivate you to attain them. To be motivational, goals must be clear, challenging, require a commitment from you, allow for feedback on your progress, and feature complex tasks, according to MindTools.com. Your ultimate goal, to play better, might be somewhat intangible, but all of the goals that become a part of your training plan should be much more concrete and developed according to these basic principles.
Outcome Based Goals
Setting your goal to be outcome-based simply means you are focused on achieving your goal. How you get there is still a part of your plan, but it is not a concern when developing your goal. One drawback to using outcome goals for motivational goal-setting is that you might not have control over the outcome. Most sports have a certain amount of uncertainty built into them. If you can fail your goal because of circumstances outside of your control, it might not be the most effective goal for you.
Process Based Goals
Process-based goals can make it easier to focus on variables you control. A basic process goal can be to attend two extra practice sessions a week. Such a goal is entirely dependent on your determination to show up. Process goals can also be used to set goals for activities in which you are inexperienced. Setting a process goal is basically working to develop a habit that can lead to achieving your goal.
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