Can you see your goal? Is it Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, given a Timeframe?
Bobby Jones, the famous golfer said, “I’ve played a few rounds with friends, but I’ve never played a friendly round.”
Golf like many other sports requires “muscle memory”. Muscle memory is when you train your muscles to perform the same way time after time. It’s a process.
A significant part of success in golf, as in life, is setting goals and being able to visualize them.
Florence May Chadwick was an American swimmer who was the first woman ever to cross the English Channel both ways. In 1952, Florence was the first woman to attempt to swim the 26 miles between Catalina Island and the California coastline. As she began this historical journey, she was flanked by small boats that watched for sharks and were prepared to help her if she got hurt or grew tired. Hour after hour Florence swam, but after about 15 hours, a thick, heavy fog set in. Florence began to doubt her ability, and she told her mother, who was in one of the boats, that she didn’t think she could make it. She swam for one more hour before asking to be pulled out. As she sat in the boat, Florence learned that she had stopped less than 1 mile away from the California shoreline, her destination. Florence explained that she quit because she could no longer see the coastline-there was too much fog. She couldn’t see her goal.
Two months later, Florence got back in the water to try her task once more. This time was different. She swam from Catalina Island to the shore of California in a straight path for 26 miles. The same thick fog set in, but Florence made it because she said that while she swam, she kept a mental image of the shoreline in her mind. She didn’t lose sight of the shore because she focused on that image of the coast in her mind, and in this way, she reached her goal.
A few years ago, the Men’s basketball coach at West Point, the United States Military Academy, conducted a study on foul shooting and practice. He divided the team into two groups equally based only on the free throw accuracy (FTA) the number baskets made divided by the several attempts. Each group had a 50% conversion rate, they made 1 out over every 2 tries. One group went to the gym and practiced foul shooting an extra hour everyday. The second group went to the library and sat in the stacks and practiced foul shooting in their mind, one hour a day.
They practiced ‘seeing it first”. They practiced visualizing their goal. This group deployed a SMART process.
Their goals were: S=Specific, M=Measurable, A=Attainable, R=Realistic, T=Timeframe
SPECIFIC – A specific goal and not a general, broad goal. A general goal would be to “Exercise.” A specific goal would be “Join a gym and workout three days a week.” Another example of a general goal would be “Drink water.” A specific goal would be “Drink 64 ounces of water throughout the day.” List the goal in detail. List your goal in a way that you can check off the steps you’ve accomplished in order to achieve it.
MEASURABLE – Create milestones for measuring your progress toward the accomplishment of each goal. When you measure your progress, you stay on track, remain focused, reach your target dates, and motivate you to reach your goal. By making it measurable, you have a sense of accomplishment as you move forward in your progress. An example is to “Join a gym and workout three days a week” by indicating on your calendar the three days you worked out. Another example is to keep track daily of each eight ounce glass of water you drink. If your goal is to eat three meals a day and two planned snacks, either list the foods in your eating for that day or check off “Meal 1, Meal 2, Meal 3, Snack 1, Snack 2.” One good day of achieving your daily success creates momentum for the next day and the next, etc.
ATTAINABLE – Make sure that your goals are attainable so you can decide ways to meet them. If a goal is attainable, once you define the goals and details to get there, you start to develop the attitudes, abilities, skills, and the steps you need to take to obtain success to reach your goals. If your goals are unrealistic or overwhelming, you won’t be excited and enthusiastic to begin to accomplish them. If your goals are attainable, you move closer and closer to accomplish your desired goal outcome. A cycle of momentum and success will be created.
REALISTIC – A realistic goal must represent an objective that you are willing and able to work on. Every goal should be something you can visualize yourself reaching. In goal setting, if you can’t see it, then it is difficult to achieve it. If you believe you can reach your goal, then it can be accomplished. See yourself accomplishing your goal by practicing visualing success. If it is a weight loss goal, shut your eyes and visually see yourself standing on the scale and seeing your goal weight. Visualize yourself shopping, picking up a certain clothing size or style, trying it on and it fits you beautifully. If you have a fitness goal, such as participating in a competitive walk/run, visualize the finish line. See yourself approaching it, throwing your arms up as you reach and cross over it.
TIMEFRAME – A goal should be defined within a certain period of time. Without a time frame associated with a goal, there is no sense of when you will reach your goal. Give your goal a deadline so you can work toward accomplishing your goal. If your goal is to lose a certain amount of weight, when do you want to lose it by? If you leave your deadline open-ended as in “someday”, you do not have a sense of when you will achieve your goal. If you ground it within a time frame, “by September 1st, then you’ve already put into motion accomplishing your goal. Don’t leave your timeframe as open ended. Create the commitment and dedication to your goal by giving yourself a timeframe. State your goal to create ways to enjoy your success.
At the end of 30 days, the two groups met in the gym for a foul shooting contest. Group A the gym guys, improved 15%. Group B the ‘virtual’ ballers improved 14%.
This group, sitting in the quiet library without a ball or a basket improved almost as much as the team in the gym. They practiced SMART goals.
The Army Coach was Michael William Krzyzewski, today he’s Duke’s Coach K.
Consider Bobby Jones’ quote, we must be competitive with ourselves. We need to work together and challenge ourselves, without blame or ad hominem discussions. Remember Florence Chadwick has her learning experience, “She stopped because she couldn’t see the GOAL”.
Please make sure you and your Teams not only can see the goal but understand them and that they are SMART.
All the runners in a race compete. Only one wins. Lets run to Win!
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