2020 has taught us that sometimes the context (such as the global pandemic that we are experiencing, can disrupt all the objectives that you have set for yourself.
However, that does not have to stop us so that in 2021 we can rethink and plan what are the challenges that we want to achieve throughout the year because it may happen again that you plan them and there is something that prevents you from achieving them, but if not do you plan …
for sure you will not get anything at all! Therefore, whatever happens, it is worth planning your goals this year as well.
year 2021.
In this first post of the year I want to give you 7 keys that I use every year and that help me to think and plan those challenges that I want to achieve throughout the year.
Logically, some I get them and others I don’t get them (we have already said that things external to us can happen that prevent us) but what is certain is that in absolutely each of them I put everything that depends on me to try to achieve them.
KEY 1. THINK ABOUT OBJECTIVES THAT MOTIVATE YOU… YOU!
Do not get carried away by fashions and do what others tell you to do. Your goals are yours and they belong to you and they have to be something that really motivates you.
That it motivates you does not necessarily mean that they have to be related to pleasure. They can be related to something that you do not like but that you know you need to do, that is, for a duty motivation. And both are very important!
An example of pleasure motivation would be: “I am going out to eat at 2 new restaurants every month.” (Since you like to go out to eat, this objective would be related to pleasure)
An example of duty motivation would be: “Go to the gym three times a week for at least an hour each day.” (You don’t like going to the gym, but you know it’s good for your health. Motivation here is not about pleasure but about duty)
So, do your research and ask yourself what are the goals that really motivate you and for which you want to work. This is key since if they do not really motivate you, it is most likely that you will abandon most of your duty objectives, which are the ones that will take you the most work and effort.
And that doesn’t interest you!
A good question that you can ask yourself to find out the degree of motivation you have regarding the challenge / objective / challenge that you propose is: What do I want it for? If you find a clear answer to that question and it identifies with you, you will know that it is a motivating goal for you.
KEY 2. DIVIDE YOUR OBJECTIVES BY AREAS AND… WRITE THEM!
Another important aspect when planning your goals is knowing what area you identify with.
Grouping your challenges of the year into different categories will help you understand which part of your life you want to improve.
For example, I divide my challenges for the year into four categories: 1. Partner / Family, 2. Work,
3. Pleasure and 4. Health / Fitness.
I know, they are not very original categories… But they help me to have a very effective global vision of how I want my year to be.
You can divide it into these same categories or create as many other categories as you think necessary. Another very important aspect! is that the scribes. On paper, on the computer, on a cardboard, on a PowerPoint … whatever you prefer. When they are in writing they are better
fixed. It is also important that they are in a place where they are easily visible so that you can remember and review them over and over again.
KEY 3. PUT THEM IN POSITIVE.
In life we can move to achieve or avoid. Normally when we plan negative objectives what we are saying to ourselves is what we want to avoid. This doesn’t help much because it creates more blockage and makes things turn out (much more often) worse than we expect because our focus is on what we don’t want to happen.
When we plan positive objectives what we do is the opposite, we tell ourselves what we want to achieve and thus our focus is directed towards opportunities, which will cause us to cause many more things and have more opportunities to achieve it.
An example of an objective stated in negative would be: “I don’t want fear when playing games to make me lose ranking” or “I don’t want laziness to make me not go to the gym.”
An example of a positive stated goal would be: “Whatever happens this year I want to be a brave player to stay in my ranking” or “This year I am going to become a tenacious person to go to the gym on a regular basis.” As you can see, the difference between one and the other is abysmal and although in both what is intended is the same, when we say it in a positive way we make the probability of achieving it much higher because we propose it in proactive terms in which we work to provoke what we want to achieve and not to avoid.
KEY 4. MAKE THEM EXCLUSIVELY DEPEND ON YOU.
It is your challenge, it is your goal, it is your challenge, therefore it must be something whose achievement depends exclusively on you. If you make them depend on others, it is most likely that you will not succeed or that if you do, you will not be in control.
What interests you is being able to control them and make it depend exclusively on you! You have to learn to differentiate what the desire is (which is usually external to you and you do not control) and what is the objective, challenge or challenge (which is what should depend on you and you control).
For example, you can consider the following: I want to be the top 100 in Spain at the end of the year (this is the desire, which does not depend exclusively on you nor can you control it in its entirety) and for this I am going to train 5 days a week 3 hours every day. I will do 2 hours of physical a day and 3 of weekly mental training. I will take care of my diet with a nutritionist and I will go to bed every day at 23 hours to sleep between 8 and 9 hours a day (these would be the objectives that depend on you and that you can control in your
whole).
Another example would be: I want to make new friends (this is the desire, which does not depend exclusively on you nor can you control it in its entirety) and for this throughout this year I will go out 2 times a week to activities carried out by the club friends, I’m going to propose
I will meet them on Saturdays and I will try to be kinder, more empathetic and talkative (these would be the objectives that it does depend on you and that you can fully control)
So, learn to distinguish what is desire (which does not depend on you) and what is really objective, challenge or challenge that you want to plan (which does depend exclusively on you) and focus on it 100%.
KEY 5. SPECIFY IT IN A SET WAY.
You have to “get” this rule into your head: “The more specific and clearer the goal, challenge or challenge, the better your brain.” So, be as specific as you can! The more the merrier!
An example of a non-specific objective would be: “I want to improve my ranking.” This objective is missing many questions: How are you going to do it? How long do you want to achieve it? How much ranking do you want to improve? What are you going to have to give up? Do you have the help of someone? , What are you going to do in a concrete way to achieve it? … An example of a specific objective would be the one we saw in key 4 (Go back to the key and review them, either of them can be worth it) So remember, when clearer and specific better for your brain.
KEY 6. BE CHALLENGING BUT REALISTIC.
Phrases like “if you can dream it, you can get it” or “dream of the impossible” have done a lot of damage. These types of phrases the only thing that almost always get us to lose our confidence, that we become discouraged and that we end up abandoning our objectives.
I know it is very tempting to think of going for the impossible but the reality is that it is very ineffective. Record this idea for yourself: “The objectives have to be realistic but challenging.” That is, they have to be above your current possibilities, but within a reality.
For example, if I am 500 from Spain, going to be the top 10 in Spain in a year is really very unlikely and therefore it is so challenging that seeing that they are very far away you end up abandoning. And as much as we dream of it, the chances of getting it are really very low. In this case “dreaming of the impossible is not going to do anything other than make us abandon and destroy (probably) our self-esteem.
A challenging but realistic goal would be to go from the 500 to 300 ranking of Spain (obviously in each case it will be different, it is just an example) and then the player may or may not achieve it, but, at first, it seems like a goal that is within reality of the player and that is a challenge for him, which would fulfill both conditions. Which will mean that the probability of abandonment is very low and that the confidence and self-esteem of the player is much higher.
KEY 7. THAT YOU HAVE AT YOUR DISPOSAL THE RESOURCES TO REACH THEM.
Having the resources to achieve the objectives, challenges or challenges that you set yourself is essential. Without them, it will be impossible for you to get them. We are going to distinguish between two types of resources: External and internal. The external resources will be mainly: time and money.
If you want to be the top 100 in Spain, it will be very likely that you will need a provision of funds to pay the coach, strings, rackets, trips, tournaments … And also time to go to the tournaments, to go to train …
If you want to lose 15 kilos it will also be very likely that you will need a provision of funds to pay for the gym, sportswear, sneakers … And time to be able to do the exercise …
If you do not have time and money to work on your objective, challenge or challenge, it will be really difficult for you to achieve it and you will have to readjust them to the resources you have.
The internal resources will be mainly those that depend exclusively on you, mainly: energy, discipline, perseverance, resignations … If you want to be top 100 or you want to lose 15 kilos you will have to resign, you will have to be disciplined, persistent and dedicate a energy to achieve it.
Therefore, it is very important that you know what resources you have (both internal and external) because that will also determine how the objective you plan should be. If you’re not willing to give up going out on weekends with your friends, you don’t want to
train 5 days a week, you don’t want to put all your energy into each training session or you don’t have the money to go to a tournament every week, it is not very realistic that you set the goal of being 100 from Spain.
In the same way, if you are not willing to dedicate 3 days a week to going to the gym, you do not have 6 free hours in your schedule or you are not willing to give up the breakfast donut, it is not very realistic to set the goal of losing weight 15 kilos. So, adjust your goals, challenges and challenges to the internal and external resources you have.
To finish and out of the letter there would be a last resort that would be to REVIEW, REVIEW and REVIEW. Review your challenges, objectives and challenges constantly.
At least once a month, check how you are progressing on your goals, challenges and challenges.
If things go well, keep working and don’t touch anything.
If you see that there is something that is not working, look for a way to correct and improve it.
And don’t worry if at any point you stray from the trail. The planes do it constantly and end up arriving perfectly at their destination.
The important thing is that in your reviews you are aware of how and how much you are deviating so that you can make the corrections that allow you to get back on track.
So now you only have one thing left to do, get down to work and plan your goals!
May you enjoy reaching your challenges, goals and challenges!
Vicente Cuairán
Follow me on: @vicentecuairan and @adtitanes (twitter, facebook and instagram)
Director of Academia de Titanes – Company specialized in mental training of tennis players.
www.academiadetitanes.es
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