I can’t believe it is another year.  Consequently, this is the time of year where athletes make goals for themselves to accomplish in their sport.  Unfortunately, most of these goalsettings end up being dreams rather than actual goals.

What do I mean?

People that go out and start successful businesses usually begin by creating a business plan.  Something written down so they can map out what they need to do to get to where they want to be at.

Athletes should be no different.  No matter what level your athlete is at, they need to write down what they want to accomplish.  Then they need to post those goals where they will see them daily and read them again and again.

This is illustrated best with a high school athlete from Columbus named Abby Steiner.

I have never met Abby Steiner, but being from Columbus and in the track circles, I have watched her run.  She is the current state champion in Division 1 for the 100M and 200M for the state of Ohio.

I happened to come across a tv piece about her a couple years ago.  You can watch it on Youtube by clicking here: https://youtu.be/iu3S583SDcw.

About 50 seconds into the piece (it’s less than 2 minutes long), the reporter talks about AND shows her written goals sheet she has.  It is a very meticulous piece of paper.  She mentions if she ever feels like she doesn’t want to go to practice, she looks at her goals and it reaffirms to her why she needs to go.

A brief glance of her goals shows that it is much more than just goals, but a summary of each season.  What were her running accomplishments (times, ranks, etc.) and also what she learned during the season and what she needs to improve for next season.

You have to say it has worked because she will be going to Kentucky this fall playing both soccer and track.  She’ll have a chance to win a few more state titles and hold a few more records before it is all said and done though.

Now, not everybody could write down goals of winning the state track meet championship.  You’d still have to have some talent towards the sport you specialize in.  But, if you can combine that talent with some focus on goalsetting, you might be able to get somewhere.

This is a topic that I have talked about before, for example in this post back in 2016.  But if you are going to be a successful athlete YOU NEED TO WRITE DOWN YOUR GOALS!

Yes, you very well could accomplish your goals without writing them done.  But, if they are written down, now you can be dialed in.  You can look at them each day and say, “What do I need to do today to get me one more step closer to my goals?”

When you feel like falling into the vortex of your cell phone or tablet, look at your goals.  Is there something you could be doing instead of that to get you one step closer to accomplishing your goals?  Could the cell phone be looked at later after the work is done that you need to do that day?

Get into writing your goals down.  If you are not writing them down, then all you have are wishes and not goals.  Look at those goals daily to keep you motivated on what you need to do to accomplish them and I promise you, achieving those goals will be in your reach.