Many of us have dreams of sporting prowess. Arms aloft as we win the Olympics, Tour De France or World Championships. Or perhaps it’s something a bit more palpable, not just something we dream about but something we have a real desire to achieve – an ambition.
But how do you make your ambitions into goals?
Goals need a plan and a commitment to achieve them. There are lots of things that you can do to help you commit to goals which will significantly increase your chances of success.
Turn dreams into ambitions, ambitions into goals and goals into success!
In this article we’ll look at some of the things that can help improve your motivation and help you to achieve your goals, making your goals not only SMART, but SMARTER!
You’ve probably heard of SMART or SMARTER goals before, and there are various different words used for these acronyms, all of which are valid. Here we use;
S – Specific
A specific goal really helps to focus the mind on exactly what you want to achieve. A vague goal doesn’t help in the same way – a goal such as ‘get fitter’ won’t motivate you much. It doesn’t give you much direction or focus. A goal such as ‘Complete the Yorkshire World Cycling challenge’ is defined and specific. We know exactly what we have to do to achieve it (Ride the 3 major climbs in the 2019 World Championship mens Road Race in Yorkshire in one day). We can visualise wearing that limited edition medal. It provides the focus, direction and energy we need to achieve.
You can really hone your goal by asking yourself questions about your goals like;
What? Eg What exactly do I want to achieve
When? Eg when do I need to achieve it by
Where? Eg Where will I do it?
How? How can I make it happen?
Who? Eg Who can help me?
Why? Why exactly do I want to reach this goal?
M – Measurable
If you can’t measure it how do you know when you’ve really achieved what you want to achieve? A goal that isn’t measurable is like a sport or game without keeping score. Nail it down – don’t allow the possibility of moving the goal posts. Instead of a wishy washy goal like ‘Be fit enough to enjoy a long bike ride’ be more precise – ‘Ride a century’ then you know exactly what’s required. 100 miles in a day. There’s no doubting it – you record your ride, see how many miles you did and whether you achieved it or not. There’s something about certain numbers too – 100 k in a day somehow has much more appeal that 63 miles.
A – Achievable
Yes, your goals need to be challenging to stimulate your imagination and motivate you. But make them too hard or impossible and you’ll soon lose interest. Keep the impetus by breaking your goals down into smaller more manageable chunks. As you tick off those smaller goals you’ll get a sense of satisfaction which will inspire you to continue. Why not start off with 50k in a day. Set yourself a challenge of 100k next. Once you’ve completed this up the ante to 100 miles in a day. These incremental goals will inspire and motivate you to train more. Achieving each step on the way to your bigger goal is motivating in itself.
R – Relevant
Your goals need to be relevant to you! If you decide to do something just because everyone else is, you’re likely to fail! They need to be relevant to you, to your situation and to the bigger picture. Ask yourself what is it exactly that you want, and WHY do you want it? Is your goal relevant to your‘mission statement’ or life purpose? Each goal should be consistent with your other goals and fit with your immediate and long-term plans. Note – often people use R for Realistic – but this is covered by A- Achievable.
T – Time bound
Set yourself a date by which you want to achieve your goals. We work better to deadlines. If there’s no date by which to achieve it, it’s too easy to drift along getting nowhere. If you just have a vague idea that you want something, sometime in the future, you’re unlikely to put the effort in now…after all you can always start tomorrow! Dates and deadlines kill procrastination and can be the kick you need to start now! With that date set you can start to plan. Work back from your deadline and break it down. Ask yourself what are the steps on the way? Turn these into smaller goals which are steeping stones on the way to your major goal.
E – Exciting
Choose goals that excite you! Do you love the challenge big distances? Try the 100 miles Century KOM medal Challenge for instance. Does beautiful scenery keep you motivated? There are lots of regional challenges in some of our nations wonderful national parks here. Are you inspired by following in the footsteps of professionals, riding iconic climbs of the Tour de France, Tour de Yorkshire, Tour of Britain or London Surrey Classic? There are plenty of challenges to suit you here
Whatever your goal, if it excites you, you are far more likely to achieve it!
R – Recorded
Write it down. Commit by entering an event or Challenge. Tell others or even better find a training partner or group of friends and enter the same Challenge. Research shows that even by writing down your goals you are more likely to achieve them. By telling or involving others your chances of success go up even more.
Dream Big. Set goals. Commit and take action – before you know it you’ll be on your way to turning your dreams into ambitions, your ambitions into goals and achieving those goals.
What are you waiting for?
