SMART Goal Setting
Putting into words what you want to accomplish is an important first step in almost any endeavor. You need to decide what you want to accomplish before you can set out to accomplish those things. Goal setting gives real purpose to the work that follows. Today I am going to talk about how to set goals so that you can achieve them.
Setting "SMART" goals.
Specific Measurable Achievable Relevant Time BoundSpecific
What exactly do you want to achieve. How are you going to do it? Why are you doing it? Think about the action you are going to take and what it is you want to do.
Measurable
How will you know you have succeeded? If you can't measure it you won't know. Examples of measurable outcomes include: finishing the 100 mile event, riding at a higher average wattage or speed, trimming 1" from your waistline, etc. Some immeasurable examples include "be a good cyclist", "
Achievable
Don't make your goals too easy or too unrealistic. This is like the 3 little bears. You don't want it too "hot" or too "cold". Setting a goal that is too far out of reach will lead to disappointment. "Average 25mph for 100 miles" may be possible in the Tour de France in a group, but may not be attainable for you. Setting too easy of a goal will not challenge you and makes working hard seem more optional. Pick something that you think will be tough, but that you think you can do.
Relevant
Make your goals relate to what you want to do. Improving your sprint might be valuable for a criterium race, but is much less important for a 100 mile ride. Improving aerobic endurance, like riding for 6+ hours is much more relevant to the long distance event.
Time Bound
Give yourself a deadline. You need to make your goal have a date where you can evaluate your success. If there is no deadline, then it never needs to be accomplished. With a deadline you can start working toward your goals today.
Some examples:
Ride the 25 mile TT on August 5th at 250W average.
Complete the 100 mile event on August 7th in the top 50% overall.
