Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you do, you will be successful.
—Albert Schweitzer
Strong reasons bring about strong performances.
—William Shakespeare
The topic of motivation is one of the psychological evergreens. Week after week, we come across motivational tips in countless print and online media. It would be difficult to avoid them even if you wanted to. Given that huge amount of advice, one would think that after reaching a certain age and thus having been exposed to all those tips, we would all be true motivational experts, but somehow that’s not always the case. Is it the quality of the advice? Is it our ability to grasp and implement it? What could the problem be? Again and again, I see—and a number of my colleagues confirm this—that systematic goal setting by athletes is often surprisingly perfunctory and less systematic, even though they are a key element of our actions and the basis of success. For this reason, the goals that have been set often aren’t as effective as they could be.
As an introduction to this chapter, I’m going to use a slightly unusual approach to the topic of motivation and goals. What would happen if we had a slightly more constructive approach to problems, thereby eliminating them almost automatically or using them for our conscious ongoing development? How can we take advantage of the full psychological and motivational potential of goals? What is it that drives us? What pitfalls await as we set our personal goals and how can we set goals that are multidimensional and appropriate for our brain so they will burn into our minds and help us get through difficult times?
You cannot tailor-make the situations in life, but you can tailor-make the attitudes to fit those situations.
—Zig Ziglar
A recurrent science-focused continuing-education conference for sports medicine physicians was held in the summer of 2014. The event took place in a well-known Alpine ski resort. Technical lectures were held in the morning and during the evening hours, and attendees could ski in between. Anyone who wished could join a guided group that included a skiing class. Since some attendees had mentioned that they, as physicians of sports medicine, would like to hear or learn something on the topic of sport psychology and mental training, I was asked to hold one or two lectures as part of the week’s events.
Since the conference took place in the mountains and the topic of high-altitude medicine was on the agenda, we decided to open the event with our award-winning documentary Marathon at Mount Everest: The Highest 42,195 km in the World, along with some comments on the mental challenges that such a sporting event presents. The presentation generated a lively debate, but also enthusiasm. The attendees were impressed to see what people who weren’t necessarily top athletes—average runners like you and I, those who might have already suffered some misfortunes, or who were much older than 70—could accomplish when they believe in themselves and their abilities, set challenging goals for themselves, and muster the courage to pursue them even in the face of adversity.
Interest in the second lecture was piqued. I titled it “Motivation and Goals: Guide to Self-Sabotage.” During the 30-minute presentation, I intended to provide the attendees with specific knowledge they could apply directly during the afternoon’s ski practice to test its effectiveness. The results were astounding and again generated lively conversations. After my lecture, many attendees noticed positive changes during the subsequent ski lesson; they reported skiing a little better and more confidently, that they were less afraid or uncertain and were focused and thereby more self-assured, which in turn affected their athletic performance. What did the participants change and what can we runners learn by watching skiers? It’s quite simple. I showed them how we can hugely affect our thinking, emotions, and actions with the type of language we choose and the way we focus our attention.
How do we dramatically increase the likelihood of getting precisely what we don’t really want? How do we manage to trip up ourselves as well as others and sabotage our goal attainment (or at least make it more difficult) with our choice of language, and what lessons do we learn from doing so?
Language is ubiquitous. Language is at once easy and difficult. Language can energize people and manipulate them. Again and again studies show that communication is a key issue in sports clubs, corporations, teams, friendships, or partnerships. Language is also a form of communication, and a powerful one at that. Sports language also has a positive or negative effect on our performance and goal attainment. That’s why it makes sense to know some hacks and useful communication strategies, regardless of whether you wish to communicate with your charges as a coach, as an athlete with your running buddies, or with yourself to boost your performance.
Regardless of the type of sport or running discipline we engage in—whether we listen to trainers, the well-intended suggestions from our sports friends, or our own internal voice when it tells us what we should or should not do—we constantly listen to instructions, suggestions, and objectives based on the following pattern:
Don’t put so much pressure on yourself.
Don’t allow yourself to be provoked.
Don’t be so stressed.
Don’t arch your back so much.
Don’t stiffen up when you run.
Don’t …
Or, to come back to the skiing students who, in the heat of the moment, tell themselves:
Don’t hit the snow gun.
Don’t ski straight at another skier.
Don’t let your legs get rigid.
Don’t be afraid.
Does that sound familiar? I think it does, and it’s probably not uncommon. All of those verbalizations are well intended, yet have their pitfalls and often lead to precisely the behavior we wish to avoid. Why is that?
Countless centers in our brain are working together to enable us to understand language. And there are additional centers devoted to cognition, image processing, movement control, etc. The relevant centers are in constant communication with each other. As a result, complex networks of neuronal activity form. Our brain works associatively, permanently linking a huge amount of information. This generally also includes visual imagery of facts and circumstances. However, the difficulty is that there are no images in our heads for concepts that include denials; that is, by trying not to imagine something, we inevitably imagine precisely that which we should not imagine.
The instruction: “Don’t think about a delicious serving of ice cream with whipped cream on top” results in our brain correctly understanding this command from a linguistic standpoint, but at the same time, our brain is already creating a visual (ice cream with whipped cream on top) that must then be denied or deactivated. Such mixed messages cause confusion. Our brain requires considerably more computing power and processing time for denials. But since athletic training is designed to optimize processes it would be illogical to waste time and resources, particularly with respect to the control center between our ears.
For example, say someone tells you, “Don’t put so much pressure on yourself,” “Don’t arch your back so much,” “Don’t stiffen up when you run.” In terms of brain psychology, the following happens: In order to understand what is going on, what is being talked about, the brain, in addition to activating many speech centers, very quickly retrieves an entire network of stored mental images, experiences, emotions, and physical sensations on the topics of pressure, your back, or running stiffly. But then you have to deny—or rather deactivate—them during a second step, whereby your attention has already been directed in a corresponding, and unfortunately wrong, direction. Having to then deny all of this again requires the brain to expend computing power and resources that are scarcely or not at all available during a time of major strain, when we are already at our limit or when the brain is already very busy working on something new or difficult.
There are wonderful examples from the field for that. I am thinking of a world championship boxing match in which two boxers returned to their corners completely drained and in a trance at the end of a round. Exhausted, they collapse onto their stools. That’s not what being fresh and fully conscious looks like. The coach of one of the boxers instructed him, among other things, to absolutely not drop his guard, while the other boxer was told to find the gap for a hard right. Moments later, the inevitable happened. The bell sounded for the next round. The boxers stood up, moved toward each other, bobbed and weaved a little. And then it happened: One boxer let down his guard and the other one found the gap for his hard right. Bam! The fight was over.
Here is another example you can try out yourself. The command: “Don’t think about the pope in a pink bathrobe,” immediately conjures up this image before our mind’s eye. As you can see, trying not to think about something leads precisely to that thought. In this case, something that is purposefully used as part of systematic mental training—namely the medically proven fact that mentally simulating movements will result in the corresponding muscular reactions—can prove to be our undoing. The lightning-fast inner representation or image of the unwanted behavior (e.g., running stiffly) leads to the activation of corresponding neuronal networks and to automatic muscle contractions that correspond to the unwanted behavior.
Conclusion: Language that focuses on mistakes leads to results that we actually wish to avoid.
Theoretically, the solution sounds as mundane as it does simple. But unfortunately, it is difficult to implement because we are culturally predisposed to using lots of negations and to focus on problems and deficiencies.
Systematically focus on what you want to achieve in the future, not on what you no longer want. In other words, whenever you catch yourself formulating “away from” goals, suggestions, and instructions, stop yourself and rephrase them as “towards” goals. How does it work? It’s simple! Use the magic word instead. Ask yourself what specifically you want to do, experience, and achieve instead.
“I want my job to be less stressful” or “I don’t want to be so nervous prior to the start” are typical “away from” goals that focus on problem behaviors. We articulate quite vaguely what we don’t want anymore, but the essential information is missing, namely what should happen instead. This results in a kind of goal and orientation vacuum (e.g., Where are we going and what are we focusing on?). This adage says it well: “If you don’t know where you want to go, you can’t be surprised when you arrive some place completely different.”
With the question “What do I want instead?” we can turn the above statements into “towards” goals like “I want to appear calm and relaxed at important meetings” or “I want to feel confident, calm, and full of positive energy prior to the start.”
EXERCISE: FOCUSING ON GOALS INSTEAD OF MISTAKES AND PROBLEMS
Write down five examples of “away from” suggestions, thoughts, or instructions from your daily training or competitions that you have heard or spoken recently, and turn them into “towards” goals.
Table 5 “Towards” goals instead of “away from” goals.
“Away from” goal |
“Towards” goal |
Don’t allow teammate X to provoke you. |
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I don’t want to get stomach cramps. |
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Don’t get your feelings hurt so easily. |
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… |
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Now let’s reach into our bag of tricks once more to find some effective self-coaching strategies. Which phrasing do you think is more productive?
“Let’s see how long it will take me to find my ideal running rhythm.”
“Let’s see how quickly I can find my rhythm.”
The first version basically implies that it will take a long time. If you want to effectively orient or instruct yourself or another athlete towards a specific goal or improvement, you should use positive speech patterns that imply that you or the other athlete will achieve your goal and possess the necessary abilities. These speech patterns can activate mental images of goal attainment as well as conscious or unconscious search processes for paths and means on the way to the goal.
Again and again, words creep in that sometimes have a disastrous effect on our motivation and performance. The word try is such a word. It unconsciously implies that we can only achieve something with lots of effort. Better phrasing would be: “Allow yourself to run loosely and elegantly.”
And finally the word must. The use of the word must creates pressure. It also leads to reactance, a conscious or unconscious type of resistance and the desire to do just the opposite. Better would be: “I will train today.” My suggestion is to eliminate the word must from daily training and competitions.
Any constraint inhibits and squeezes nature and it is unable to express its beauty in all its charm.
—Wilhelm Heinse
If you can internalize this, you are well on your way! If you are able to emancipate yourself a little here and use negations only sparingly in the future, you are using a valuable approach to brain-appropriate thinking.
Let’s assume you enter a pitch-dark room but would like to be able to see. It would not occur to most people in this situation to find out why it is so dark in the first place. They would search for the light switch.
During a research project initiated by Steve de Shazer and Insoo Kim Berg in Milwaukee, USA in the 1980s, countless consultations and therapy sessions on very different topics were held over the course of several years. They always revolved around the handling of, in some cases, extremely difficult problems and the implementation of desirable change processes in everyday life. Here is what made this project special: The clients agreed to have experts sit behind a two-way mirror and record and analyze these sessions. The goal was to receive an answer to an extremely simple question: Which consulting methods work better or faster? Which strategies can be used to make the coaching process as effective as possible? How can we help people get a handle on their problems as quickly as possible and actually implement positive changes (Szabó & Berg, 2006, de Shazer & Berg, 1997)?
The results were astounding, challenged many a scientific consensus, and ensured the creation of a new, highly effective coaching method that made its way into corporations, schools, sports, and many other areas of life: solution-focused short-term coaching. Runners or their trainers can, of course, also use these findings.
Many people still believe that expertly solving psychological problems or difficulties requires explicit knowledge about their causes. They intuitively ask themselves how to solve a problem if they don’t really understand it. However, the researchers found that focusing tons of attention on analyzing problems and their causes is often not necessary, even unproductive. It might be helpful to an auto mechanic fixing an engine, but isn’t always the method of choice to quickly bring about desired changes or improvements in people.
The moment we intensively and comprehensively immerse ourselves in the problems and their causes, we activate precisely those problematic mindsets and behaviors (neuronal networks) that are supposed to be overcome in the first place, accompanied by negative feelings that come along with thinking about the problem.
Experts refer to this as entering a problem trance: You walk in circles, don’t really get anywhere, and feel bad, sometimes even helpless. Problem-focused counseling methods therefore lead to more prolonged change processes. This quickly conjures up the stereotypical image of psychologists whose clients spend years on the couch, digging around in their past during a psychoanalysis without realizing any substantial changes in the present.
Albert Einstein once said, “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.” Thus solution-oriented coaching focuses primarily on one thing: desirable objectives. Instead of analyzing problems, the focus is consistently on objectives. Instead of focusing our attention on negative facts and circumstances from the past that did not work well, we shift our energy to positive, future results. This triggers positive learning processes, and is more fun and more motivating.
The research project showed that when attention is directed to specific, desirable results and improvements as well as the necessary resources, when we consistently think about or discuss with others what exactly it would be like if a certain problem no longer existed or simply resolved itself and a specific goal was reached, progress is faster and long-term solutions are much more likely.
Instead of analyzing, we quickly enter an action phase because we talk about it or think about where we want to go and what specifically needs to be done next to get closer to a goal. This approach is very practical and hands-on. And most of the time it is also very effective.
EXERCISE: PROBLEM VS. SOLUTION AND RESOURCE ORIENTATION
ASCERTAINING THE CURRENT SITUATION
On a scale from 1 to 10, how satisfied are you currently with your life overall, whereby 1 would mean desperately unhappy and 10 would mean everything is perfect? Mark the place on the scale that is currently most accurate.
You can exchange these questions for countless other topics, depending on what your current interest might be (e.g., “How satisfied are you with your current performance?,” “How successful were or are you in this or that area?,” “How much of your performance potential are you currently able to tap into?,” “What is your current stress level?”).
On a scale from 1 (not at all) to 10 (very), how … |
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Satisfied with your current performance? |
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… |
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Let’s assume you marked 6. It may continue like this:
Question |
Answer |
Why did you not get a higher score on the scale? |
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What exactly are the problem areas? |
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What are the causes of these problems? |
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What went or is going wrong? |
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What is the reason and whose fault is it? |
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How can you solve these problems? |
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Table 7 Solution and resource orientation.
The fact that you marked a 6 means a lot of things are already working quite well. |
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Specifically what has worked out well so far? |
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What contributes to that success? |
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Which qualities have helped you to be successful? |
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Exactly what do you do and which specific behaviors do you exhibit? |
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Which behaviors do you wish to continue, exhibit more often, or expand upon in which situations? |
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Assuming you would move up one point on the scale, what would change? What would you do differently? How would you or others notice that something has changed? |
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If you take yourself as an example, which approach feels better immediately and motivates you more to keep reading? It is usually the solution-oriented version. It is much more appreciative of you and others, puts the focus increasingly on your own strengths, talents, and abilities, and promotes self-confidence. And it focuses on the present and the future. That is motivating because, in the end, we can only work on those.
It is about identifying ideal circumstances or goals and exploring possible ways to get there in the most efficient way. As you do so, let the following maxims guide you:
Find out what works well and do more of that.
Don’t try to fix what already works.
If something doesn’t work well long term, stop and do something else.
You don’t have to be an expert in solution-oriented short-term coaching. But someone who consistently cultivates an attitude and mindset focused on goals, strengths, and resources will have fewer problems, have more fun, and be more motivated on the way to achieving goals, often reaching the desired goals considerably faster (Grant, 2012). Along the way, several principles and methods on the subject of goal attainment have proven very helpful in increasing the likelihood of actually arriving where we want to go. We will take a look at this in chapter 4.3.
Consciousness is just a PR campaign by your brain to make you think you actually have a say in something.
—J.D. Haynes
The head is round so thought can change direction.
—Francis Picabia
A great deal of our behavior is completely automatic and takes place outside of our conscious control. We are largely steered through life by our subconscious. The findings from brain research seem to be unequivocal. Any time we think we have made a conscious decision, those decisions have already been made in the depths of our brains for half an eternity (Soon et al, 2008).
While I don’t want to have a controversial debate here about whether or not we possess free will, all experts at least agree that a significant portion of our behavior occurs unconsciously, meaning far from conscious thought and control. If we had to permanently make only conscious decisions, our brains would have barely enough computing capacity left to control our breathing.
We’re all familiar with the New Year’s resolution phenomenon. At the start of a new year or on our birthdays, we plan to do something new, to make changes, (e.g., get more exercise, train more consistently, eat healthier, be more relaxed, quit smoking, spend more time with our partner, start this or that, stop this or that, learn, and improve). We set goals we want to achieve, are sure of the positive results, and yet most resolutions fizzle among the chaos of everyday life. How does this happen?
Again and again I see recreational athletes who, when they first start running, simply enjoy running, and as the body adjusts to the physical effort relatively quickly, they begin to set ambitious goals like, for instance, running a half-marathon in X amount of time, finishing a marathon, or whatever. That’s great. Here is what’s not great: In spite of the desire to improve and in spite of elaborate training plans, problems creep in here and there. Sometimes it is hard to get going. There are motivational lows before long runs. Frustration sets in because training units cannot be completed as planned due to professional or family obligations. We start to put pressure on ourselves. Particularly problematic is that thoughts and soliloquies like “Today I must …” begin to creep in. We already explained why this is problematic.
In situations like this, we refer to or debate how to fight the inner couch potato almost by default. Many of us may not be aware that the way we think about and talk to ourselves often has a surprisingly negative effect on us, at least when it is not meant to be humorous. I therefore recommend not fighting problems and aspects of your personality, but rather purposefully using them as valuable resources for very specific improvements. It is a method that has been very successful in coaching. Redirecting attention from problems to possible solutions creates a kind of relief and a more positive experience. We are more likely to think in terms of possibilities and resources that are available to us.
What might that look like in practice? We use a tried and tested and extremely helpful approach that has proven successful in self-coaching: reframing. We assign a different, often opposite, interpretation to a situation or put it in a different context. Let’s simply call it rethinking! Instead of fighting the inner couch potato, we can, for instance, begin thinking of it as an inner watchdog and bring it on board as a competent partner or trainer. Let’s imagine that the motivational problem isn’t really a problem but an intelligent signal from deep within the mouthpiece of our subconscious that pursues a positive intention and holds a valuable message. What might that message be? Maybe an inner voice pointing out that our goals are not consistent yet? Or that the specific paths leading to the goal should be improved?
Try it. Instead of feeling frustrated and fighting against yourself, you can remove the self-imposed pressure, relax, and open yourself up to constructive learning.
It is easy to set new goals, as the New Year’s resolution problem shows. It appears to be less easy to set goals so they actually align our actions the way we want, optimally boosting our motivation and endurance to pursue our goals so we really stick with it in order to achieve the goals we have set. Usually it isn’t a lack of understanding of the importance of the goals but rather a lack of specific advice on how to ideally structure goal-setting and goal-pursuit processes so they are effective.
A man without a goal is an arrow without a tip!
—Sitting Bull
We must arrange for our goals to come our way.
—Theodor Fontane
Setting goals is easy. So why devote an entire chapter to the subject? Although setting goals seems extremely easy, it is often done very superficially. Amazingly, runners and many other athletes often neglect this very important pillar of their success and happiness. In this context, sport psychologists refer to goal-setting training. Yes, this too, can be practiced and improved upon. I give it a slightly different name: brain-appropriate goal management. With brain-appropriate goal management, goals that fit one’s personality and life situation are mentally and emotionally embedded in such a way that they release an optimal energy boost, permanently steer actions in the right direction, and promote motivation, even—and especially—when it gets difficult. This is a good time investment and an important part of mental training. Anyone who does this regularly is verifiably more successful, and not just in sports.
Does setting difficult goals increase performance more so than setting easy or no goals, or does an instruction like “Give it your best” possibly work better?
These are some of the questions countless scientists around the world have asked on the subject of goals and their effect on our behavior and performance. Instead of a laborious search for clues and the gathering of individual results in order to find valid answers to design effective mental training, there is an easier way: meta-analyses of the use and effectiveness of goal-setting processes in sports and vocation.
Meta-analysis refers to synoptic papers summarizing the results from different scientific studies that were executed independently of each other. The results are impressive and unequivocal. The use of goal-setting strategies works extremely well. More than 90% of studies in general psychology (far more than 500) done with more than 4,000 participants in more than 10 countries show that goal-setting techniques consistently had a very strong influence on behavior during the most diverse activities, regardless of whether the subjects were children, researchers, managers, warehouse workers, physicians, or any other group of individuals. And in sports? The situation looks very similar. By now, around 80% of sports science and sport psychology studies detect major positive effects (Burton & Weiss, 2008; Weinberg & Gold, 2015). It has been proven that goal-setting strategies are an extremely powerful tool for improving motivation and performance. However—and this is the significant limitation—only if it is done correctly.
Let’s take a look at which factors have a positive effect on the effectiveness of goal-setting and goal-attainment processes. And you can use these findings right away if you like.
“Do your best” is probably the classic among motivational sayings. However, its effectiveness is limited compared to specific, measurable, behavior-based goals, particularly with respect to long-term development and improvement. Here the SMART formula has received quite a bit of attention. And rightfully so! Someone who sets SMART goals is more likely to achieve them. What exactly does SMART mean? It is essentially about being as specific as possible about one’s goals. The general statement: “I want to lower my cholesterol” is less effective than: “I will lower my cholesterol from 290 to 200 by X date, by immediately forgoing that nightly portion of chips, and I will walk/run 3 times a week for at least X minutes. Yee-haw!”
Specific: What exactly do I want to achieve? When, where, with whom, how often, how long, in which context? The phrasing of the goal should be as specific as possible. No vague wish, but a specific positive statement.
Measurable: How exactly do I or others recognize that I have achieved my goal? Only if I have formulated specific success criteria will I be able to later verify my success or progress.
Attractive and action oriented: What makes the goal attractive? What would I have gained athletically and in my life overall? Which important need would it satisfy? What could be the goals behind the goals? Does it fit into my overall life situation? If yes, which specific steps or actions are required to reach the goal? What exactly should be done? What can I do to get one step closer on the path to my goal?
Realistic: Is it feasible? Is it an ideal challenge? Can the goal really be achieved independently? Goals should be achievable yet challenging, otherwise you will lose motivation.
Time dependent: Precisely when—by what date—do I want to have reached my goal? Without this information, we tend to put things off. Also, without a specific date we are unable to verify success or any progress we have made.
EXERCISE: TURNING WISHY-WASHY GOALS INTO SMART GOALS
Turn the following example goals and other goals from your everyday life into smart goals.
Table 8 Wishy-washy goals and SMART goals.
Wishy-washy goals |
SMART goals |
Some day I would like to complete the 250 km Atacama Crossing run through the Chilean desert. |
On June 3, 2011, after a fantastic week of competing, I will cross the finish line at the oasis village of San Pedro injury free and with my head held high, and will successfully end my psychological experiment. In order to achieve this and to also fully enjoy this adventure, I will train 4 times a week for the next 3.5 months, will acquire the necessary gear, plan my trip, and learn about ultra-marathons. |
I want to improve my marathon time. |
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I want to have more endurance. |
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I want to lose weight. |
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I want to be less nervous prior to the start of a competition. |
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I want to gain mental strength. |
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… |
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… |
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… |
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Success is achieving self-imposed goals. If we stick to this definition, the SMART formula provides us with a tried and tested tool to orient our behavior to specific goals and to measure and celebrate successes. This is important because achieved goals have an effect on our future motivation and self-confidence. It is also helpful to write them down, particularly for long-term goals. We are all familiar with the saying: “Out of sight, out of mind.” When we can keep our goals before our eyes, they will remain ever present.
In your opinion, does it make sense to set particularly difficult, particularly easy, or moderately difficult goals? Or, putting it in slightly different terms, what do training, sex, and studying for an exam have in common? Any idea? Here is the answer: It is the Inverted U-Model! Let’s take a look at the image below.
Figure 4 Relationship between goal difficulty and motivation.
Here it is again, the inverted u-model. This might bring back memories of math class. But don’t worry if math wasn’t your forte! This inverted u-curve applies to many different areas of activity, like, for instance, a well-designed training unit. At first, intensity is relatively low because you need to warm up. This is followed by the central workload, and afterwards there is usually an easy walk-run or cool-down.
If, by chance, you are currently training to become a physical therapist or are studying for an exam, your learning units should proceed as follows: Some light fare to start and warm up with, like, for instance, creating an overview and reviewing the previous learning unit and the learning unit structure. Next comes the main learning phase, during which content is worked out and committed to memory, and finally another relaxing activity like, for example, mentally reviewing the learning unit, tidying up documents, and planning the next unit.
This progression pattern also applies to good sex. First, you get each other in the mood with foreplay. Then you get down to business, followed by after-play, though all of us know that there can be exceptions to this. A really good dinner or menu also follows this pattern. We begin with one or more appetizers followed by the main course, and finally dessert.
This curve is also used in the areas of motivation and goal setting and offers us clues about the relationship between motivation and task difficulty. Imagine that the lower, horizontal axis represents the difficulty of a task and the vertical axis shows the level of motivation. The lowest values are shown at the bottom left, the highest values at the top right. The curve’s shape shows that low-difficulty tasks are met with equally low motivation. Interest in such goals quickly fades away. Goals that require little or no effort are relatively mindless from a motivation psychology point of view. But goals that are too difficult to achieve can lead to frustration, decreased self-confidence, and low performance. Since one won’t be able to reach the goal anyway, the motivation level is accordingly low. Goals have an optimal effect on our motivation and performance when they are moderately difficult. Or, in other words, when the likelihood of reaching our goal is around 50/50. So the trick is to find an optimal balance between a goal’s challenge and the possibility of actually reaching it.
Sounds simple, but it can be quite tricky. Extremely success-oriented athletes automatically set very challenging yet realistic goals and generally reach them, which in turn affects their self-confidence and any future goals. It is different for people who are less driven by their hope for success, but rather by their fear of possible failure. They avoid setting challenging goals and instead tend to set very easy or difficult goals. This is of particular significance to trainers and course instructors who support other people and accompany them in their development. Less success-oriented athletes need to frequently be reminded of the importance of a realistic goal-setting strategy. It is important to be able to properly assess the abilities and personalities of one’s charges to offer them the best goal-setting support.
The longest journey begins with the first step.
—Lao Tse
Dreaming noble dreams and imagining them in all their glory is wonderful. But those dreams can fizzle if we don’t derive short-term goals from the long-term goals. Research shows quite unequivocally that the synergy between short- and long-term goals is essential to success. Long-term goals offer the necessary direction and provide a global orientation. But someone who only focuses on long-term goals usually does not improve his performance (Kyllo & Landers, 1995).
Short-term goals are critical to success because they move us systematically, step-by-step towards our long-term goal while also providing a basis for our ability to monitor or evaluate our progress on the way to the desired long-term goal. Thus we are able to always take a look and see if we are still on the right track. Moreover, achieving short-term intermediate goals gives us a sense of achievement and maintains our motivation. Short-term goals should begin with an athlete’s current performance and ability level, and difficulty levels should gradually increase in accordance with increases in ability or fitness level.
The following two methods have proven helpful in combining long- and short-term goals:
1.The goal-setting ladder or the mountain top as a metaphor
Imagine a ladder, or maybe a mountain. The top rung or the top of the mountain represents the reaching of a desired long-term goal. The lowest rung or the foot of the mountain represents the current status quo (i.e., your abilities). Now you need to identify appropriate intermediate goals, step-by-step or rung-by-rung, that build on each other and will take you to your desired goal. Writing down, visualizing, and hanging up or displaying this personal path of development in an exposed location can be very helpful. This method seems so simple and yet it is extremely effective. It has proven successful in working with many athletes all the way to world and Olympic champions (Weinberg & Gould, 2015).
Figure 5 Goal-setting ladder using the Atacama experiment as an example.
2.Backward planning
A second method is borrowed from project management and served me incredibly well during my preparation for the Atacama Crossing in terms of approaching my goals systematically and maintaining my motivation during difficult moments. Admittedly, both versions yield the same results, so it is really just a matter of choice. But deadline-based backward planning might work well and create the necessary commitment for athletes who frequently find themselves putting things off.
Since my preparation time of 3.5 months (or about 15 weeks) was very limited, I created a chart made up of 15 columns, one for each week. Then I earmarked different rows for a variety of things I had to get done because not only did I have to get my body in shape, I also had to get the necessary gear ready, plan the trip, the provisions, and the mental aspects, etc. Here are some examples of my approach to physical training, particularly the long runs.
Instead of starting with the current status quo and planning my preparations chronologically from the present into the future, similar to the goal-setting ladder, I planned backwards from the future to the present. I began planning my short-term intermediate goals with the question: What do I have to complete by the starting shot to be optimally prepared?
The answer: To be able to enter the race as fit as possible in March 2012, I must have completed a two-week tapering phase (i.e., a recovery phase). For the tapering to be as effective as possible, I should complete my final and longest run of four hours just prior to the tapering phase. In order to do well on that run, I should have completed a 3.5-hour run once a week for the previous three weeks, etc. This is how I was able to create a consistent series of intermediate goals. Whenever my motivation lagged and I found myself asking if I could just skip the day’s unit, I remembered the backward planning and I knew that if I skipped or postponed this training unit, the entire timetable would shift and in the end I wouldn’t be as fit on day X as I want to be.
I saw this before my mind’s eye as a kind of timeline or measuring stick that floated above the calendar. You can push it back and forth, but only a little. If I push it too far, I sabotage myself or rather my goals. That thought made my little low disappear instantly, I put on my running pants, and cheerfully started out on my long run in freezing winter weather at 5 AM on a Monday morning.
Table 9 Backward planning for time-sensitive identification of intermediate goals.
When children compete, they usually only think about one thing: winning. It is no different with top athletes. They compete to win, become world champions, get a medal, get a spot on the podium, finish a race in the top ten, outrun a certain opponent, win a certain place in the overall ranking or age group, etc. Of course, this also applies to less ambitious athletes. They focus their attention on the results that don’t just depend on their own abilities but, during comparison competitions, that also depend on those of the respective opponents or competitors. Such results are, of course, very valuable, and they can be extremely motivating in the long run (e.g., winning the national championship).
However, there are also disadvantages. Excessive attention on result goals before or during a competition can build unnecessary pressure, lead to fear of failure, and shift the attention to negative thoughts (e.g., what if …?) instead of staying in the moment. Most important is the optimal execution of actions. And interestingly, that is why winners in particular don’t really think about winning before or during a competition, but instead focus on about bringing a good performance. And that takes us to the second type of goal.
Next to result goals, which by definition always rank our performance against that of other runners, we can focus on performance goals. Here we look only at ourselves. We compare our performance to our own previous performances. When runners and other endurance athletes discuss their goals amongst each other, they make assertions like:
I want to improve my 10K time to 38:40 minutes.
I want to successfully finish ultra-marathon Y.
Next year I want to complete the Ironman in less than 9 hours.
Those are performance goals we can control ourselves. They provide an answer to the question: What exactly do you want to achieve? Goal attainment is specific and measurable. We can control these goals much better, and tweak them when necessary, than we can the result goals, because here we are the masters of our destiny and we don’t have to depend on others. Instead of just finishing an ultra-marathon, our excellent preparation allows us to spontaneously refine our goal during the course of the race (e.g., I can finish the 160 km ultra portion in less than 24 hours, regardless of how fast or slow other participants finish). Attractive performance goals can make excellent intermediate goals and thereby serve as a framework for a long-term performance development.
While result and performance goals (i.e., the question of what you want to achieve) are usually in the foreground, a third very significant kind of goal is surprisingly often disregarded, despite the fact that it can have such a critical impact. Performances and results don’t come from nowhere. They are created, based on our actions. But how do we want to achieve our performances and which strategies are employed in what form? And what do we want to feel and experience when everything is going really well?
Since this type of goal deals with specific action-execution processes or performances, they are also referred to as process or action goals. They offer a detailed response to the question of “How?” in athletic performance. The advantage is that they very effectively make us focus on the here and now, help to avoid distractions and negative thinking, and steer us towards the positive aspects of an experience. The disadvantage is that they are not as good for building long-term motivation.
Example:
Performance goal (i.e., What?): I want to finish the X run in a time of Y.
Process goal (i.e., How?): My legs are loose and so is my head. I will run with small steps to spare my joints, am absolutely sure-footed, and can orient myself very well. At night, I feel fresh, alert, and in a good mood. I enjoy being out in nature and discovering new regions.
And what is the most important thing about running? Of course, it is supposed to be fun! We want to enjoy exercising and being outdoors, to find a flow. Regardless of whether we are training or competing, only when we are in the here and now, feeling good in the moment and letting things flow, can we achieve certain performance or result goals. When that’s not the case, we are unable to really tap into our potential. And precisely how and what do you do so you feel good and in your flow while training or competing? (You can find detailed background information and advice on facilitating flow in my book Flow Hunter: Motivation, Success, and Satisfaction in Running.)
Research findings show that using a combination of the different types of goals produces better performances than the isolated use of just one type. However, timing is critical for optimal effectiveness. If we focus on a certain platform at the wrong time, it can hamper our self-motivation and self-leadership. It also makes sense to set the appropriate goals for training and competing, because we usually spend much more time training and preparing than we do competing. We can increase the quality of training with specific goal-setting processes while simultaneously boosting our motivation.
When we talked about SMART goals, we touched on the importance of always examining our goals to see if they are attractive and realistic. But even when that is the case, it is possible that they may not fit quite as perfectly into the context of our current lives. To put it more bluntly, the goal of becoming a national marathon champion is most likely not compatible with a demanding job in management that requires 60 or more hours a week of an athlete’s time and includes lots of business travel. Most of us are probably aware of that. And yet there are always situations where there are conflicts or blocks because the athletic goals just don’t fit well into the other areas of our lives.
It is therefore critical to the success of our goal-setting process to look at the goals we set within the context of our life as a whole, and uncover and eliminate possible obstacles. The following suggestions can help identify possible obstacles. If they are transparent and deliberate, that’s half the battle, and you can once again work on fine tuning your goal, and, where appropriate, even bring third parties on board during this process.
As the saying goes, everything has a price. What is the price of achieving a certain athletic goal?
Let’s assume the goal has been reached. How does that affect me and my surroundings? Am I okay with that?
What might I possibly give up on my way to achieving my goal? Am I, and are others, ready to do so? Who might have objections?
Is the goal really in line with my values, inner needs, and self-image?
Is the goal in line with my goals outside of the sport, with my overall life plan, or with the demands in other areas of my life?
A female runner from northern Germany contacted me because she wanted help with motivation and mental strength. Her running career was still in its infancy. She had made enormous leaps in her performance over a very short period of time, and now she was about to run the first marathon of her life. Moreover, she already had her eye on triathlons. Her training included a personal trainer. Although she really enjoyed running as an endurance sport, recently certain motivational problems had crept in. Surprisingly she found it increasingly difficult to make herself complete the training units. Even just the thought of training triggered negative emotions. The client wanted compact two-day coaching during which we would work on eliminating the motivational block and practice the ability to purposefully enter a pleasant state of flow to increase motivation.
Her initial response to my opening question (What brings you here?) consisted of lots of interesting information about her circumstances, including the fact that the runner worked in a very demanding leadership position. Instead of talking extensively about the problems, we then switched relatively quickly to the goal level. I asked her, “Assuming the coaching proceeds perfectly, we concentrate on exactly the right areas, and you return home satisfied and with the knowledge that you are on the right track and the changes you hope for are happening, what precisely would have changed, what would be different?” And what do you think happened next? Silence. While the problems were very much present, a specific goal for the coaching results wasn’t.
So we started by working on that goal. The result: The runner simply wanted to enjoy running again. We incrementally fleshed out this goal, meaning the runner developed mental images of what it would be like, exactly what it would feel like in different parts of the body, and how it would manifest itself externally and be visible to others that she enjoyed running again. This created a very positive, effective image of the goal. It also became apparent in how shifting the focus from a problem to a goal caused the runner’s facial expression and gestures to undergo a positive change in a very short period of time.
We also worked on resensitizing, which is actually the primary motivation for running, to the reasons for starting to run in the first place not all that long ago. The answer came swiftly and caused her to look thoughtful. Ultimately this runner was after primarily one thing and that was to create a relaxing balance to her extremely stressful, time-intensive, and demanding job. But her quick progress and improved endurance rapidly shifted her focus to performance goals, and that inevitably brought up the subject of the marathon and that the personal trainer told the runner that considering her fitness level, a time under four hours would be excellent and a great success. As we know, the runner had adopted this goal, at least on a conscious level. But her motivational problems or blocks indicated that her performance-oriented goal wasn’t really in line with her actual needs. The 4-hour goal had imperceptibly built pressure. Once the runner became aware of this in conversation, she was able to make the conscious decision to let go of this less suitable performance goal and shift her focus back to her most important goal: simply enjoying running stress-free.
By implementing helpful self-talk strategies, focusing techniques, and linking thoughts and feelings to certain triggers, we then worked on the idea that just thinking about the next training session should generate pleasant anticipation, and that she would just allow her training to flow and enjoy running. Shortly after working with her, I received a message. The runner had not been this motivated and relaxed in a long time. And since she was once again running completely free of any performance pressure and without any particular times in her head, she felt like she was running faster and longer than she had in a long time. Bingo!
Discipline is simply a matter of purpose. Someone who has his goals in sight can hardly wait for the next opportunity to act.
—Arnold Schwarzenegger
While the goal-setting process is quite rational so far, we will now add an additional characteristic. Our goals really gain momentum when we don’t just think about them and see them before our mind’s eye, but when we actually physically feel them as though they had been realized. In a way, it is a kind of memory of the future. The more detailed and vivid your image of you achieving your goal is, the more likely you are to achieve that goal. The goals must effectively get under your skin or they tend to fizzle without any effect. The following questions will help you develop a detailed vision of your goal-attainment:
EXERCISE: GOAL-ATTAINMENT SAMPLE
This exercise provides the luxury of experiencing your goal attainment in advance. It makes psychological sense because intensive mental simulation isn’t just fun, it boosts motivation and shifts our attention in the desired direction. The exercise also feeds our self-confidence. Take a little time and allow yourself the necessary quiet time to answer the following questions and to imagine them acutely, experiencing them:
Where am I the moment I reach my goal? What do my surroundings look like? What could they look like?
What exactly am I doing at that moment? What do I look like? What do I sound like?
What am I experiencing and perceiving with all my senses?
What am I thinking?
What does it feel like to have reached my goal? Exactly what am I feeling and where in my body am I feeling it?
The repeated use or activation of this image triggers neural priming in the brain. Your impetus to act is activated and guided in the desired direction. It is like walking across a meadow. The first time you do so the path is unclear, so you choose a route and flatten some grass along the way. The more you travel this route the more visible the path becomes, until it is a beaten track showing you the way as you walk across the meadow. You can take your time and really savor this exercise, or periodically use it spontaneously for a quick refresher as you get more experienced.
To ascertain whether or not a goal has been reached, checkable criteria must be formulated at the beginning of the goal-setting process. That is where the circle closes.
Regardless of whether it is a short-term intermediate goal or your main goal, you should properly reward yourself for your success. It doesn’t have to be anything big, but we should be aware of the positive effect of small rewards and acknowledgements. And it goes without saying that reaching a goal sometimes requires a real celebration.
Regular feedback on the progress or achievement of intermediate goals is essential to directing personal development processes. It is the only way to systematically control processes over an extended period of time and make situationally necessary adjustments possible.
Goal-setting processes are always an approximation and, in a way, are subject to the trial-and-error principal. That also means that setbacks and failures are unavoidable, and if lots of successful celebrities are to be believed, they might be the most important ingredients on the path to success. As in other areas of life, it is about getting up when you fall down and handling failures constructively and learning from them.
When our goals are a good fit and are well entrenched, many things get much easier for us and we no longer have real motivation problems. And in the event it does happen, we can use that as a signal to reexamine our goals or paths to achieving our goals and adjust them to fit the changing framework conditions. This turns motivation problems into a kind of inner radar and an effective tool for self-improvement.
