Before setting off for a road trip, you would make sure you have a destination, the fuel to get there, a set directions, right? The process of goal setting and successfully following through is no different. Below, I hope to help explain how I think about what goals to set, the best way I've found to stay committed, and what it will take to get there. Although the examples I give are tailored to baseball, the principles are easily transferable to other domains. On the road trip to achieving your goals, the goal itself is the destination - the endpoint or vision for yourself as an athlete, student, or person. Your willpower is the motivation that fuels you day in and day out. Finally, the "way-power" is the path it will take for you to end up where you want to be (Snyder, 1994).
But what goal should you set? There are two camps on this. We've all seen the poster that reads, "Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss you'll land amongst the stars!" But what if you get discouraged, lose motivation, and head back home to safety? The realistic camp counters this perspective by suggesting you should set goals you know you can accomplish and that the small wins will build upon themselves. I say you can have it both ways... You are allowed and encouraged to dream big, but then you must be realistic. This means objectively outlining what it will take to achieve your goals (you do this by looking at those who came before you, to be discussed more later) then asking yourself, am I willing to make the choices necessary to get there? Notice how I say choices… not sacrifices or compromises. This idea is inspired by Seattle Seahawks high performance psychologist, Michael Gervais. Sacrificing implies that you are giving up something you value but in this framework, you recognize what you have to do to achieve your vision. With this understanding, you aren't sacrificing your Saturday night out with friends to be ready for Sunday morning practice because you know showing up prepared physically for practice is a prerequisite to being great. Missing out on college spring break isn't a compromise for me to be able to play college baseball, it is a choice I make and prerequisite for achieving my vision. The choices you make might look "tough" to outsiders who don't hold the same aspirations you do for yourself. When they applaud you for your discipline and sacrificing so much, you can smile and graciously accept the compliment if you like - fully knowing there are no sacrifices on the path to achieving your goals, only choices. Be careful with your goals. For the big dreamers, listen up. If you aren't willing to make the necessary choices down the road, you must change your goal. It might sound harsh, but you haven't earned the right to hold your goal if you know what it takes to get there but are not willing to do what is required. For the ones who play it safe (I'm talking to myself here...), beware of setting goals that are too easy to achieve. You might feel great when you get there but really consider where you'll be. You might be selling yourself short, and that's a decision you'll have to live with forever. So, examine why you aren't striving farther. Are you afraid to come up short? Do you doubt yourself? Have you failed in the past? These are all excuses or rationalizations that are false - based in projections for the future. Luckily, you have the power to steer your life in the direction you like. You should acknowledge the past, yes, but also recognize that what you do next - the goals you set and behaviors you adopt - have nothing to do with the past. Goals are great, but remember winners and losers share the same goal. This means that they aren't everything... you still need the fuel to power you day in and day out. Willpower does that job. (2) Willpower We've all heard those who say willpower and motivation are limited resources that get used up during the day. This, some would say, explains why we reach for the ice cream or binge on Netflix late at night - we just can't resist, our willpower is depleted! This is false. However, if you believe willpower and motivation are limited resources, then your behavior will mirror that understanding. This will obviously create barriers along the way. Thankfully, you have the choice to hold this belief or not. In reality, willpower and motivation ebb and flow like emotions. You wouldn't say an emotion like joy gets "depleted," but it certainly goes up and down! With motivation, it often follows along with the level of investment and engagement you have in the activity. As a result, we can use our level of motivation as a gauge to measure how committed we really are to our goals. If you need to watch a pump up video on YouTube every time before going to practice, you might want to reconsider your goal of playing college baseball. However, there are ways to help. Growth Mindset First, you must have a growth mindset. This concept, from Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck, reveals that those who hold the belief that their success is a function of time and effort, plus the understanding that their skills can be improved, tend to achieve more. With a growth mindset, you see your goals as challenges. In contrast, someone with a fixed mindset believes their success is entirely dependent on innate talent. These people are quick to give up when obstacles inevitably come down the path. Dweck teaches us: the quickest way to crush your motivation is to tell yourself you can't get better. And when you do, you are lying to yourself - avoid a fixed mindset like the plague.
To compliment the habit tracking, pair it with the rule, "never miss twice." The streaks you create over time are motivating and part of the reason why habit tracking works so well. But all good things come to an end. It's okay to slip up once and awhile - life happens. But this rule ensures you don't let slipping up become a habit habit in itself. This has single handedly kept up my daily meditation habit. The app I use, Insight Timer, tracks the habit daily, creating a streak, and I just try not to break the chain. And if I do, I don't let myself miss two days in a row. I get right back at it the next day. Never miss twice. * A last note on habits... if you are trying to build a habit that will aid you in reaching your goal, set a time to do it. For me, I meditate right after my shower before breakfast everyday. That way, I'm on autopilot when that time comes everyday. Don't wait for motivation to kick in. Accountability Partner You really want to make sure you stick with your habit? Make a contract. This should look like an official bet between yourself and a friend, family member, or coach who you know will keep you accountable. And when I say official, I mean printed out and signed in pen by both parties. If you have a goal of tracking your calories everyday for a month, make a contract with someone that forces you to pay them $100 if you don't follow through everyday. The app, Stikk, offers a similar idea but on an online platform. You can pledge any amount of money to a charity or person you really don't agree with. You don't hit your goal, you pay up. Sounds simple and effective. I can't say I've used it, but is worth mentioning in this section. But what is the best hack to motivation? Identity Motivation is not just a momentary cost and benefit analysis. If it was, why would I go outside and run sprints in the rain? Or make sure I get to bed around 11 pm every night? I do these things that others might say "suck" in the moment because they are in line with the identity I've built for myself. I’ve adopted the identity of a student athlete, someone who works hard, and someone who is disciplined. Although I say "adopted," I've actually created these identities for myself through prior behaviors. By working out daily, I've become someone who doesn't miss a workout - that's why it's easy for me to run my sprints in the rain. With the identity of a student athlete who cares about sleep, I get to bed on time - quickly becoming someone who values sleep. That way, anytime I have the urge to watch another YouTube video or start to get ready for sleep, it is incredibly easy to make the better choice. I've told myself I am the type of person who gets to bed on time, so any other behavior would go against my identity. With the power of identity on my side, no lack of willpower can get in the way of me completing my habits. So what should you do? Focus more on who you want to become, not so much on the goal itself. The behaviors necessary to get there will flow much easier if you create an identity for yourself. The action will either be for or against that identity. As a result, when obstacles try to block your path or you question what to do, you can ask yourself "what would someone who X do?" "X" could be: plays college baseball, values sleep, is physically strong, is gaining muscle, never misses a workout, prepares for every academic class, etc. With a firm identity, the way-power becomes much clearer. (3) Way-Power After setting your goal and creating your ideal identity, you really don’t have many more choices to make. Really? Yes, really. The only real decision you make is the goal you set. Let me explain. Russell Wilson's Mental Conditioning coach, Trevor Moawad, who also has consulted with the biggest NCAA Football programs (University of Alabama, Florida State, University of Georgia) calls it the "illusion of choice." Alabama head coach, Nick Saban, has described the concept himself, saying: “But the fact of the matter is, is if you want to be good, you really don’t have a lot of choices. Because it takes what it takes. You have to do what you have to do to be successful. So you have to make choices and decisions to have the discipline and focus to the process of what you need to do to accomplish your goals.” You want to play Division 1 baseball? Then you need to do what other guys did to get there. There is no secret. You are going to have to do the work and emulate the habits of those who have made it. That goes for most aspirations you hold. So, learn from those ahead of you! Ask those who are farther along the path than you questions (I'd love to help any way I can!). Success leaves clues. Details of the Way
A Word of Warning There is a real danger in having one big identity, and I can speak from experience on this. Having a singular identity and the associated goal will likely get you close to your destination... but will crush you when life inevitably throws an obstacle in your way. Having your identity wrapped up in baseball is a dangerous game. I held this identity strongly for a long time - and it helped me slog through the sprints in the rain, the boring arm care exercises, the physical discomfort of getting under the bar, and maintain the focus of tracking my diet. I was 6'5", almost 230 pounds, and throwing hard going into my senior season as a high schooler. I felt on top of the world. The goals I set for myself kept getting accomplished. But when life had different plans for me and I suffered a stress fracture on both sides of my lower back... I had an identity crisis. I wouldn't be playing for another year. Psychologically, it broke me at the time. I was not mentally prepared. But, I believe that is exactly why life threw me this curveball. I needed the time and space to broaden my identity that had been wrapped up in baseball for so long, dive into personal philosophy, and really understand my values and character. I did a lot of reading and reflecting, and it ultimately started me down the path I'm on now. Learn from my mistakes and recognize the blindspots you might be creating with your identity and goals. Synthesis
SOURCES:
Clear, J. (2018). Atomic habits: An easy & proven way to build good habits & break bad ones. Penguin. Dweck, C. S. (2008). Mindset: The new psychology of success. Random House Digital, Inc.. Moawad, T., & Staples, A. (2020). It Takes what it Takes: How to Think Neutrally and Gain Control of Your Life. HarperCollins. Snyder, C. R. (1994). The psychology of hope: You can get there from here. Simon and Schuster.
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In the ultra-competitive world of sports, we are always looking to get a leg up on the competition. But even more broadly, I believe every athlete is simply striving to reach their potential. For me, when the time comes to say goodbye to playing, I want to be able to rest easy knowing I gave it my all in every area of my game. As a result, I dove into optimizing physical training, mechanical analysis, throwing programs, nutrition, sleep, and recovery (all topics I plan to write about in the future...) because I wanted to get that edge. Unfortunately, nothing translated to lasting improvements on the field. It wasn't until I took a class in the fall of my junior year at Harvard called, The Psychology of Competition and Peak Performance with Dr. Emily Hangen, that I learned there was more I could be doing to prepare. There are only so many pitches and swings you can take in a day and even less opportunities to play in games - but what if you could extend your training without any wear and tear on your body? Mental imagery allows you to do just that. MVPs and Olympians have been using imagery as a part of their preparation and training for decades... now it's time to take advantage of this secret weapon to improve your own performance.
As a baseball pitcher this means seeing everything - from the catcher behind the plate and scenery of the stadium to the color of your cleats and dirt on your jersey as vividly as possible. This means feeling the sweat on your arms and clay underneath your spikes. This means hearing your coach, the voice in your head, and the roar of the crowd in detail - even if you don't like what you hear. This even means smelling the fresh cut grass and tasting the gum in your mouth. There is no such thing as too much detail in an imagery practice. How does it work? Simply put, your brain can't exactly tell the difference between imaged skills and actual performance. Regions of the brain in charge of motor movements and imaging those movements overlap, which is why we can effectively simulate physical practice and activate motor areas just through our minds. Any athlete who has practiced knows that the more reps you do - good or bad - the deeper the movement gets engrained in our "muscle memory." But what we call muscle memory is really neural connections strengthening in our brain. The stronger the connections, the easier those patterns are to access. Luckily, since imagery uses the same brain regions as actual movement practice, we can rewire those connections through purposeful "mental repetitions" with perfect form. How to implement To have the most carry-over from an imagery practice to games, we want what we create in our minds to be as close to real life as possible. To make sure we cover all our bases, the research literature has given us an acronym: PETTLEP. Physical. This literally means your physical position (batting stance or pitching delivery) and what you are physically wearing (full uniform, hat, glove, etc.). I try to at least hold a ball but also like having a glove and hat on. Environment. Where you do your imagery practice. On the field of your competition is best but obviously not the most practical. At least imagine yourself in the proper environment. Task. Image the task you actually perform in game. Timing. Research shows that the closer to game speed you do imagery, the better the carry-over to games. However, slow motion is still an important tool especially when learning a new skill. Learning. As you improve in your sport, your imagery parallels the new skills. Emotion. Recreate game like emotions. Practice how you ideally feel: calm, confident, and in control. But don't neglect how you actually feel in games. I know I oftentimes feel butterflies before I pitch, so I include it in my imagery practice. That way, I feel more comfortable when those feeling do inevitably come up. Perspective. With a first person perspective (internal view) your see your movements through your own eyes. Again, since it's more game like it has shown to have more carry-over to in game. In contrast, a third person perspective (external view) involves seeing yourself as an outsider, like you are watching yourself on video. This is especially helpful because you can give yourself a 360 degree view of your body from any angle which allows you to train what you might be working on in practice. Uses Practice skills you haven't yet mastered. Working on a new pitch or changing your swing mechanics? Mental imagery has helped hone my new change up. I see the ball coming off my fingers in slow motion from different angles and then replay it from my own perspective. I recommend utilizing:
Closing Like anything, imagery is a skill that can be trained and improved. And as you get better, there will be a stronger transfer to your game. It will be challenging at first, but I recommend making imagery a practice. There can be a ton of benefit from even just 5 or 10 minutes a day. It really doesn't take that long to run through an inning on the mound or an at bat. Also, make the practice personal! Some perspectives and senses come easier than others. Don't think you need to make imagery perfect for it to be effective. So, if you are trying to get an edge on the competition, why are you leaving mental imagery out of your preparation toolbox? Sources:
Clarey, C. (2014, February 22). Olympians Use Imagery as Mental Training. Retrieved July 02, 2020, from https://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/23/sports/olympics/olympians-use-imagery-as-mental-training.html Cumming, J., & Williams, S. E. (2012). The role of imagery in performance. Eklund, R. C., & Tenenbaum, G. (Eds.). (2013). Encyclopedia of sport and exercise psychology. Sage Publications. Maese, R. (2016, July 28). For Olympians, seeing (in their minds) is believing (it can happen). Retrieved July 02, 2020, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/olympics/for-olympians-seeing-in-their-minds-is-believing-it-can-happen/2016/07/28/6966709c-532e-11e6-bbf5-957ad17b4385_story.html |