As the new year approaches, athletes typically set ambitious goals for the upcoming season. Whether that is achieving personal bests, conquering new challenges, or maybe even starting something new, the journey begins with the end in mind. Athletes can gain an advantage by embracing the often-overlooked practice of reflection.

Reflective practice has a transformative impact on an athlete’s performance. This practice involves taking the time to introspectively examine past experiences, acknowledging successes, and learning from setbacks. It’s a crucial tool that serves as the foundation for effective goal setting – a guide for setting up a more focused, intentional, and successful journey in the year ahead.

One of the key benefits of reflective practice is heightened self-awareness. Athletes who regularly engage in reflection gain valuable insights by understanding their psychological landscape. From there, athletes can tailor their goals to align with their unique situation. This self-awareness becomes the compass guiding them through the peaks and valleys of their athletic endeavors.

Additionally, reflective practice serves as a potent antidote to burnout. Athletes often find themselves caught in a relentless pursuit of achievement, neglecting the importance of mental and emotional well-being. And rest. Reflective practice provides that intentional pause button—a chance to recalibrate, recharge, and recover with a refreshed perspective. By acknowledging the good, the great, and the not-so-great, athletes can set goals prioritizing sustainable growth and long-term success without the mental and physical exhaustion that leads to burnout.

Consider a runner who experienced a series of injuries during the previous season. Through reflective practice, they can pinpoint the contributing factors, such as overtraining or improper warm-up routines. With this knowledge, the athlete can set realistic goals for the new year, incorporating injury prevention strategies and gradually building up their training intensity. This approach not only enhances performance but can potentially minimize the risk of setbacks. (And maybe a plan to incorporate mental training routines for when they’re unable to run.)

Reflective practice cultivates resilience—a crucial quality for athletes navigating the unpredictableness of competition. By overcoming past challenges (and acknowledging them!), athletes develop a deeper confidence base that propels them forward. This resilience can help shield them from self-doubt, setbacks, and external pressures, ensuring they stay on course to achieve their goals.

To integrate reflective practice into your goal-setting process, start a reflective journal. Regularly document your training sessions, competitions, and emotions associated with each experience. Ask yourself what worked well, what could be improved, and what lessons you can extract.

The road to successful goal-setting in the new year begins not with a sprint but with a reflective jog down memory lane. Athletes who invest time in introspection and self-analysis gain a competitive advantage by setting goals grounded in self-awareness. May this new year bring not just accomplishments, but also new wisdom gained through the power of reflective practice.

We’re six weeks into the new year. Consider this your 2021 accountability check-in on your goals and resolutions. So, how are you doing on your goals?

If you’ve seen the story about the percentage of folks who give up on their resolutions by [enter some date in January], then you already know that you’re not alone. But this doesn’t mean that your dreams for setting goals for the year need to completely die. One of the integral steps of goal-setting is ADJUSTING your goals when something is not working.

The familiar acronym for goal-setting is SMART (or SMARTER). Depending on the resource you’re using, you may have seen the “A” stand for Achievable, Attainable, Actionable, Assignable, or Adjustable. I know, this layer of confusion can make setting SMART goals… well, a little DUMB (Directionless, Unimportant, Messy, and Boundary-less-ness… Bear with me, I’m working out the details.)

In my coaching, I stick with ADJUSTABLE. Thereby, your goal should be Specific, Measurable, Adjustable, Realistic, and Time-Bound. But Mel, WHAT DOES ADJUSTABLE MEAN?! Maybe it’s changing your deadline. Maybe adjusting the frequency at which you’re actively working towards your goal. Maybe you realize that perhaps Mondays are NOT the best day of the week to be productive and you will reclaim and redirect your energy to Wednesday. (Wednesday knows what’s up.)

To be successful at your goals, you need to be smart (see what I did there?) about reflecting and reassessing: How are you measuring progress? And, if you’re not making progress, where do you need to adjust and reset? Keeping a goal adjustable allows you to continually experience progress.

Here are a few action steps for you to consider:

• What are your current obstacles? WRITE THOSE DOWN.
• How will these obstacles change in the next few weeks, few months, over the course of the year, etc.?
• What level of control do you have in changing or removing these obstacles?
• What are some ways in which you can reduce the challenges or obstacles?
• What teeny, tiny implementable habits could you use to pew-pew (*finger guns*) some of those obstacles?
• And, maybe most importantly: Is the goal still meaningful to you?

Look, you’re not alone in needing to adjust your goals. 2021 is seemingly bringing along a lot of baggage from 2020. Be kind to yourself, and see where you can make some adjustments – while still making some headway on (the other “A”) what you want to achieve this year.

And don’t forget to celebrate your successes!

If the issue with your goal-setting progress is that you’re struggling to get started. Stay tuned for a post on starting new habits (where I might even dispel some of the myths of motivation).