Active Lifestyle
Health Centre
What is goal-setting?
Goal-setting is a procedure that people use when they have a specific task, a desire or a want they wish to achieve (Locke 1981).
The best kind of goals are S.M.A.R.T
When looking at each part of your life and thinking about goal-setting, it is very important to remember the following guidelines
Be specific - don’t just make it a goal like "I want to be an psychologist" be precise in what kind of psychologist you want to be, such as "I want to a sports psychologist who works with performers i.e. musicians"
Measurable - so you know when you have achieved them and you are able to tick them off once they are achieved - as they are measurable in some way e.g. it will take six to seven years to gain my degrees.
Achievable - make sure can you reach them through your own efforts and that your success is not reliant on others e.g. have I got the scores I need to do psychology at uni
Realistic - (within your means) are you capable of putting your social life on the back burner for the time needed to achieve them. And Relevant - do I really want to achieve this, and Review them regularly, how am I going what have I achieved so far.
Time limited - so that you can work towards your goals, my undergrad will take four years, my Postgrad will take me 1 year and my masters should take me two years.
Many goals often need to be combined in short and long term steps. For example:
Subjective goals - getting fit, learning to have fun, and doing your best
General objective goals - getting high marks, or making the teams
Specific objective goals - increase the hours of practices or study
Outcome goals - these represent standards of performance which focus on your results of a contest e.g. beating others to gain a place on the team or into the uni course you applied for.
Performance goals - these focus on improvements relative to your own past performances e.g. improved marks or playing skills.
Process goals - the specific procedures in which the performer will engage in during a performance e.g., a boxer keeping his feet moving when fatigued or a netballer keeps her arm straight when she shoots a goal.
These distinctions are important as evidence suggests that certain types of goals are more useful in changing behaviour than other types of goals (Williams 2006).
