“Football is football and talent is talent. But the goal settings makes all the difference”–Robert Griffin III

Most Football players work hard, but they don’t seem to get anywhere worthwhile. A key reason that they feel this way is that they haven’t spent enough time thinking about what they want and haven’t set effective goals.

Goal setting is a powerful process for thinking about your ideal future, and for motivating yourself to turn your vision of this future into reality.

The process of setting goals helps you choose where you want to go in life. By knowing precisely what you want to achieve, you know where you have to concentrate your efforts. You’ll also quickly spot the distractions that can, so easily, lead you astray.

What are the key aspects to learn and remember when setting your football goals?

Here’s a closer look at goal setting and how you can make it forceful and practical:

Set Goals That Motivate You – Your goals must be of personal benefit to you. This means that each goal you set must help or assist you in ways that will benefit your long-term satisfaction and fulfillment.

Many players fall into the trap of trying to achieve goals that are set for them by other people. If you belong in this category of goal setters, then you must come to understand that you will never develop your football confidence and motivation, unless you personally take responsibility for your goals and align them in ways that will benefit you long-term.

Set SMART Goals – There are no secrets to success. But there are systems to success. The reason why most athletes do not accomplish the goals which they set out to achieve is because of the system they were exposed to. The first point you get to hear when you start setting or reading or discussing about your goals is that the goals should be SMART goals. (SMART: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-Based.) Without any doubt SMART goals will set you up for success. However, with constantly changing times, goal setting is much beyond just being SMART.

Visualize Your Goals – High achievers always know precisely what they want, because they’ve written it down. Often, they write a short description of their goals every single morning, as a personal reminder of their priorities and their objectives. The act of writing your goals down vastly increases your chance of success. Write it down! Then, keep your notes where you can see and read them every day.

When you write down a goal you increase your chances of reaching it dramatically. Some sports psychologists say you are 80% more likely to reach a goal you’ve written than one you simply attempt to keep in your mind.

Set Up a Goal Evaluation System – Research on football psychology indicates that performance feedback is absolutely necessary if goals are to enhance performance. Therefore you must receive feedback about how your present performance is related to both short- and long-range goals. Without such feedback, you cannot track your progress toward goals and may be unable to see improvement that is actually occurring.

No matter what your age or experience, goal setting is important at each level of the football mental game.

The depth of the goal and commitment will change as you age and mature. Goals are what keep you focused and determined. They also teach you to work for something with great effort and zeal which will carry on long after the game is over.

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