From Fairways to Pathways: Journey of a thousand swings-setting and achieving your goals???

Hello and welcome back to From Fairways to Pathways. Our monthly newsletter where we discuss all things golf and life. And as it’s the first edition of the year, I thought it would be useful to talk about goals and targets for 2024. It’s a popular subject especially this time of year - but people can sometimes miss some important steps on the road to achievement.

Setting goals is far more than just expressing on social media your desire to hit a certain score this year. Dreaming and hoping is all you can do without a structured process. I’d like to own a Ferrari but unless I put in place a process to earn enough money to get one, it will likely remain just a dream.?

So in this episode, let's explore the most important factors for creating the goals you dream of and vitally, how to develop a process to achieve them:?

Understand your "Why"

Understanding what your intrinsic motivation is - your “why”, is the very first step. Clearly understand why your goals are essential to you. Why do you do what you do? What keeps you coming back for more no matter what??

Think about something you want to achieve, this could be at work - a promotion perhaps, or in your personal life - maybe you want to go travelling around Europe. Now think about why you want to achieve this.?

Why do you want the promotion? It may be for the extra money or the power it comes with or the control over your life.?

Why do you want to go travelling? It may be the freedom, or the excitement of exploring and meeting new people.?

In golf, your intrinsic motivation might be the exercise you get, or the social aspect of seeing your friends once a week for a game and a laugh. It might be to become the best player you can possibly be, no matter what, this is the thing that keeps you coming back and keeps you motivated.?

This intrinsic motivation, this “why”, should have a more emotional connection to you than just a goal or achievement. Because the more emotionally connected you are to your goals, the higher the likelihood of staying committed, especially during challenging times.

Get some clarity of vision:

So once you’ve got a good feel for your “why”, you can start to clearly define your dreams and goals. This is where visualisation comes in and the more specific and vivid your vision, the easier it becomes to create actionable steps.?

I call this your Outcome Goal. What do you want to achieve and by when? What do you desire in-line with your intrinsic motivation??

And notice here the need for the “when”. Make sure you start to get specific about your vision. Instead of a vague goal like “get a pay rise at work” or "improve my golf game", try to get specific, for example, “get a promotion to Assistant Manager by August”, or "reduce my golf handicap by three strokes, in the next six months."

Your outcome goal will feed your intrinsic motivation, which as we discussed is the deep-routed reason for doing what you do.?

Analyse your needs and be honest:

What do you need to work on in order to help you achieve your outcome goal? This is where you need to analyse your own scenario to better understand what needs to specifically change or improve in order to get what you want. Of-course being specific about your goals is important, as is making them measurable, achievable, relevant and timely. SMART goals is a well trodden approach in business and is certainly a vital ingredient to your goals recipe in golf. And absolute honesty with yourself and reality is fundamental here.

Where are you in your career projection? What elements of your management style do you need to improve in order to get that promotion you desire?

In terms of golf, look at your stats - how many greens do you reach in regulation, how many putts do you take per round, how many fairways do you hit? This will create a real picture of your game or your life and provide indications as to where you need to focus your effort and time to improve.?

These performance targets are specific, measurable and often outcome-oriented goals that directly align with your overall dream or vision. A performance target for your career might be to improve your presentation skills or better understand HR policies. In golf it might be to consistently hit a certain number of fairways, or reduce the number of putts per round.

They offer you clarity by defining a desired outcome and they serve as milestones that keep you focused on your larger objectives.? And the beauty of performance targets is that they provide tangible metrics for measuring your progress. You’re able to assess how close you are to your target and help you stay on track and make necessary adjustments.

Create improvement action plans:

What specific SMART processes are you going to put in place to achieve your performance targets? What will you do, when and where will you do it??

These process goals focus on the actions, behaviours and routines that contribute to the achievement of your performance targets.?

You have decided that you need to improve your presentation skills to get that promotion you desire - so you might sign up to a weekly online course, or attend local presentation workshops every Thursday evening to hone your skills. In golf, you may want to focus on improving your greens in regulation, so you’ll commit to practising your short and long irons for 1 hour every Tuesday evening. Or work on creating an easy, repeatable pre-shot routine.

Process goals help in establishing positive habits and routines. Consistently working on specific aspects of your game contributes to long-term improvement.

These detailed goals intrinsically mean that they are within your control. While you may not have direct control over winning a tournament, or getting the promotion, you can control your preparation, training and practice. By concentrating on the process, you ensure continuous improvement through small, incremental gains across various aspects of your life that will accumulate over time, leading to significant overall progress.

You’ll find that process goals can also alleviate performance anxiety. Instead of fixating on the outcome (the promotion, the low handicap), you concentrate on executing specific actions, making the journey more manageable.

Let’s look at some extra hints and tips to help you on your journey??

Accountability mechanisms

Establish accountability mechanisms to ensure you stay on track. This could involve sharing your goals with a friend or hiring a coach. Regular check-ins and progress assessments help maintain accountability. Surround yourself with individuals who support your goals. Share your dreams with friends, family, or colleagues who can offer encouragement and guidance.

Adaptability and flexibility

Be open to adapting your goals as your circumstances change. Life is dynamic and your goals should be flexible enough to accommodate unexpected challenges or opportunities. Regularly reflect on your progress. If certain strategies are not yielding results, be willing to adjust your approach. Continuous reflection allows for refinement and improvement.

Continuous learning

Embrace a growth mindset that supports continuous learning. Seek knowledge and skills relevant to your goals. If your dream is to become a scratch golfer, commit to learning about the mental game, course management and refining various aspects of your technique.

Celebrate small wins

I bang on about this quite often but it works. Celebrate the small victories along the way. Recognising and celebrating your progress boosts motivation and reinforces your commitment to the larger goals.

We all know that setting goals can help you achieve what you want - but many of us go about it in the wrong way. Only focusing on the big end goal or dream, without breaking down the how and the why. But setting a process of improvement can give you a powerful framework for growth, resilience and the realisation of dreams. Whether in the context of personal development, career, relationships, health, or golf(!) the act of setting goals, analysing what you need and committing to a process of improvement is fundamental to living a purposeful and fulfilling life.

If you’d like to learn more about the shared lessons of golf and life, take a listen to the Positive Golf Mindset Podcast????

You can download a FREE copy of my Goal Setting Workbook ??that walks you through the above elements

Contact me to book your FREE?mini session here???Let’s spend some time understanding and breaking down your own barriers, the things that are getting in the way of achieving your goals. I’ll hold you accountable for your own development and support you on your journey.