Importance of having sports goals

A few days ago, as I was organizing the first belt promotion test with my Karate students, I had the opportunity to talk about the importance of having sports goals/objectives. But beyond just formulating them, we must do it correctly in order to achieve them; otherwise instead of investing hours training, we would just be spending hours exercising (or so to speak).

In the world of mental health there are many practices that allow athletes to stay motivated, focused and with the level of self-confidence high enough to fulfill our dreams. The good thing is that it is only necessary to put into practice some simple mental exercises, for example: setting goals to ourselves.

Each time you formulate a goal, take into account that it must answer the 5 questions that the S.M.A.R.T. method establishes for us. To better exemplify them, I will share an objective I wanted to accomplish once I knew that I was selected as a candidate for the Karate black belt promotion test:

"Pass the international Shinkyokushin Karate black belt promotion test with a perfect score in the 20th of November of 2016 "

S- Is it Specific? Yes, pass the test.

Avoid abstract objectives. Our goals should be clear, they should always detail what you really want to achieve.

M- Is it Measurable? Yes, either you pass or you fail the test.

You must have a way of measuring your goals, and it doesn’t necessarily have to be through competitions, you can also do it through small personal goals. For example: gain 1 kilogram of muscle per month for the next 4 months.

A- Is it Achievable? Yes, I had a training program focused on achieving it.

The goals should be ambitious to get us out of our comfort zone but you must be realistic and have goals that you can achieve. You can’t expect to win a marathon in 2 months when the most you've ever run in your life is 10km.

R- Is it Relevant? Yes, Karate has meant more than 10 years of my life.

The goal you set should have a meaning for you, a level of importance. Otherwise there would be no motivation to achieve it.

T- Does it have a Time frame? Yes, the 20th of November of 2016.

The goal must have a specific date because this will help me schedule my workouts. In addition, working under pressure helps to bring out the best of us.

Some tips I can give you that have given me excellent results are:

1. Remember that every goal has a purpose. Find your OWN purpose in your goals and keep it mind. Try to avoid putting your motivation in the acceptance of other people. Very few people in your life can be worthy of your effort.

2. Write what you want, this helps you define the path you should draw. Sometimes in doing so you realize that a goal is divided into several goals, so write them down as well.

3. Each goal has an expiration date, this is extremely important to stay focused; otherwise it will be difficult to visualize fulfilling them in time.

4. Do not be afraid of "what people will say”. Remember that the goals are yours and nobody else’s.

It's not about simply wanting to win a competition and that’s it. Behind that macro objective there is a whole mental exercise that helps us shape, organize and execute a plan to achieve it.

The achievement of goals brings us motivation, interest, self-esteem, concentration and a considerable increase in sports performance.

Gladiators, do not let your dreams stay in words, make a plan and start working right now to get it ... What are you waiting for?

#english