On Goal Setting from Stacie

I'm sure somewhere along the line you've come across goal setting and the "rules" that go along with it. In addition to being specific and measurable, some people say goals should also be "realistic". In some ways, that's true, but for the most part I disagree. Let me clarify. If goals are "unrealistic" in the sense that it's physically harmful or just about impossible, then by all means, be more "realistic". Okay, maybe I should use an example. If a 200 lb player sets a goal of losing 50 lbs in 2 weeks, then okay, we need to be more realistic. First of all that's practically impossible. Second, it's dangerous to this player's health to lose that kind of weight in that short period of time. So in that sense, yes, set a goal that's more "realistic" ~ 50 lbs in 6 months. However, when it's a case of, "Oh, you're never going to acheive that, be more realistic" ~ that's when I disagree. Why? Haven't you ever heard of"Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you land among the stars"? One difference ~ I have no intention of "missing" when setting my goals. Okay, so back to why I believe in setting goals that are actually a bit "unrealistic". Simple, personal experience. Some of you may have read at www.AllAboutFastpitch.com/CoachingTips.html that I had my first experience with goal setting as a college softball player. Before then I had never written down goals. Honestly, I thought it was a silly exercise. I mean, just because I write it down on paper doesn't mean it's magically going to happen right? As I sat down and gave myself goals as a college athlete, I included things that I thought maybe I'd be able to accomplish someday. For example, I was terrible at hitting the outside pitch when I got to college. Thinking back, I'm amazed it didn't really hurt my offensive output, but I wrote down on my goal sheet that I wanted to be able to hit the outside pitch. Not just get the bat on it, but hit is solidly for a base hit. When I wrote it down, I set it as a long term goal. Something I hopefully would be able to do within the next few years. Guess what? By the beginning of my second year in college, not only could I hit the outside pitch, but I could hit it with power! The same happened for a number of my other goals. These goals that I thought were a bit "unrealistic" ~ Not only did I reach them, I exceeded them. Now I wonder what would have happened if I had set my goals a bit higher. Would I have exceeded them too? Somehow I think so. It's happened time and time again throughout my life. Every time I set a goal thinking "it would be nice if this really did happen", I was able to actually do it and usually in a shorter time frame than originally planned. So every time I heard someone say, "Set realistic goals", I used to secretly disagree. Then earlier this year, I went to a coaches clinic. The person giving the clinic felt the same way I did. It was the first time I ever heard anyone say to set "unrealistic" goals. If you've never done it before, it certainly doesn't hurt to try! "Any system or blueprint for success is better than none at all. Think on paper." --Brian Tracy If you need a Goal Setting Worksheet, you can get one in PDF format at http://www.allaboutfastpitch.com/GSW.pdf Or download a Goal Setting Worksheet in Word Doc format athttp://www.allaboutfastpitch.com/GoalSettingWorksheet.doc After you give this a try and reach those "unrealistic" goals, let me know. I'd love to hear about it! Next time, I'll share some cool clinics I've been able to attend and share with you why I liked them so much. Best wishes to you and have a great day! Sincerely,Stacie MahoeOwner