Goalsetting & Psychology – How It Can Affect Your Life
Goalsetting is one of the most vital components to a person’s success. It will aid you in the process of achieving the status you’ve always dreamed of. This article provides a rough guideline as to goalsetting and the psychology of a person’s mind, and how making certain goals can affect your life.
Goalsetting can be separated into two different parts : short-term goals, and long-term goals. Short-term goals act like stepping stones assisting you to reach your ultimate goal, whilst long-term goals are things to wish you achieve in around 10 years time. Over the course of your life, you will be faced with many challenges you will have to overcome. Making good decisions is also a major element in your life, and it is up to you to make choices and review the consequences of them.
Scientists from around the world have done research and experiments on alumni students of Ivy League schools in the US, and found that people who wrote out their goals, ended up becoming more successful and contributed greater to the society that others who didn’t. Goals don’t necessarily have to be completed on paper, but writing them out will be more useful in guiding you in the right direction. Psychological goals are also a huge factor and plays a huge role in the success of an individual.
Always make your goals measurable. By this, I mean make them easily observed by other members of the community. For example, my goal for this year was to win the HK Junior Nationals U14 Singles, and by winning it, you can tell that I achieved my goal. Bad goals are something like “I have to play well and improve this year. What do you mean by playing well? Instead, devise a goal that you can measure, for example “I have to at least make the quarter-finals of every tournament I play, therefore this will determine that I have improved.”
A sports psychologist from Spain once told me that Goalsetting is split into different areas: Planification, control, motivation, and methology. Planification is your goal, and what you are planning to do to reach that goal. Control, is having control over your physical and mental status into having your mind set on the goal. Motivation, is the force that drives you to reach that goal, and finally, methology, is the things you do in order to reach that goal. Having a good control of thought such as making good decisions and focusing, and having a good playing philosophy will also help serve you into achieving your ultimate destination.
Finally, we come to two of the most important factors of goalsetting. Firstly, you must always identify where you are and where you want to be. Ask yourself someday when you are making goals and making choices in your life : Where am I going? Who is taking me there? Who do I want to be?~and you will find that making goals, isn’t that hard after all. Secondly, focus on what you have to do to reach that goal. In the end, it’s the amount of effort you put into that gap that really makes a difference. Take this for example : you have $2 right now, and this is where you are. Having $10 is where you want to be. The part that requires the most concentration and effort on, is making that $8, in order to reach your goal. The more effort you put in, the more results you will receive, and in the end, maybe you’ll make $15, instead of $10.
In conclusion to goalsetting, a main factor to focus on is to always aim higher. Aim higher than something you will be satisfied with, because even if you don’t reach that standard, you won’t be disappointed with the level you ended up at. But if you exceed that standard, you will be thrilled and be extremely content, which will bring you confidence that can lead to further things in your life.
Psychology in tennis, is a psychology of a person’s performance and is split into three different sections. : 1) Thoughts 2) Emotions 3) Sensations. Thoughts, are the things that run through your mind during a match or when you are training. Emotions are the way you feel when completing certain actions, and sensations are the rewarding feelings you get when you have achieved something. Having the right mind set and being positive is what drives you to increase you performance.
Remember, the decisions you make in life are up to YOU. No one else can complete that goal for you. They can help aid you, but they won’t be able to take you there. It’s all up to yourself. Goalsetting is a continuous process, so stick with your goals and you will live the rest of your life being a satisfied individual.
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