“I’m a firm believer in goal setting. Step by step. I can’t see any other way of accomplishing anything” – Michael Jordan

Success in sports, as in any other achievement arena, depends on both skill and motivation. And motivation includes striving for particular goals.

Having a goal and working toward it is a fundamental component to success in having a good mental game in basketball.

Goal setting is what gives us clarity. When you get into your car and start the engine you have a destination in mind. Before you turned the key in the ignition you knew where you were heading. In fact you were clear on why you were getting in the car in the first place. There would be no point jumping into the driver’s seat if you simply didn’t know where you were going. You’d just be wasting time, energy and resources.

Research on sports psychology for basketball shows that there is a direct link between setting goals and improved performance.

Goals help us be efficient in how we allocate our time and resources as well as helping to keep us motivated. Without that singular focus – the destination you are heading for – progress simply can’t be made.

Your performance won’t improve.

Most of us want to be successful. We want to make a meaningful contribution and fulfil our dreams. However, without specifically articulating what it is we want to do it’s easy to become sidetracked.

Goals give us purpose; creating a tunnel vision that blinkers us to the world’s distractions.

If we try hard, every one of our goals is achievable, well before the scheduled completion date! So why do we always fall short? We were never taught the simple secrets of goal setting.

For many basketball players, goal setting seems to be a waste of time. Why do we need to plan where we are going when we know where we want to end up? Just think about it. Would you ever embark on a cross-country car trip without laying out a map and marking the route? Unless you like to live dangerously, there’s NO way!

So how can we make it easy for ourselves to set our goals and then achieve them every time? Doing it the SMART way will help.

Specific: Set yourself a specific goal. If you want to win the next championship, map out those goals or activities you believe are required to fulfill your dream. Think big, but set some intermediate goals to help you see the road signs along the way.

Measurable: Be able to measure whether you are achieving these goals. It is not only about setting them, but also keeping records as well. Think of feedback system, performance analysis, or some other metric that you can judge whether or not you are on track.

Attainable: Be sure that you set goals that are attainable. Don’t be pie in the sky. Set goals that are challenging but realistic.

Relevant: Make sure your goals are consistent with the overall team goals. Relevancy is always important. Keep your overall vision clearly in front of you.

Time Bound: Be specific about the date by which you want to achieve your goal. Be disciplined in your approach to managing your time and the achievement of your goals.

Choosing a goal puts a huge burden on your shoulders. We try to plan out where we will be and when we will make it there. By doing so, we place unnecessary stress on ourselves. Instead, you can keep things simple and reduce stress by focusing on the daily process and sticking to your schedule, rather than worrying about the big, life-changing goals.

When you focus on the process instead of the result, you can enjoy the present moments and improve your basketball mental game in basketball and become the mentally tough player you want to be.

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