“Imagine there is a bank account that credits your account each morning with $86,400. It carries over no balance from day to day. Every evening the bank deletes whatever part of the balance you failed to use during the day. What would you do? Draw out every cent, of course? Each of us has such a bank, its name is time. Every morning, it credits you 86,400 seconds. Every night it writes off at a loss, whatever of this you failed to invest to a good purpose. It carries over no balance. It allows no overdraft. Each day it opens a new account for you. Each night it burns the remains of the day. If you fail to use the day’s deposits, the loss is yours. There is no drawing against “tomorrow”. You must live in the present on today’s deposits. Invest it to get from it the utmost in health and happiness. The clock is running. Make the most of today.” —Marc Levy
Look around… Everywhere you look someone is making a resolution. Everybody seems to be re-evaluating how they use those “86,400” seconds. In order to be healthier, someone is trying a new workout or attempting to eat differently. Companies, management teams, or employers are setting new performance goals in hopes that increased profits will make everyone happier.
The new year provides a clean slate to re-focus our attention and establish potential new priorities whether in our personal lives, at our work, on the field, and in the classroom. Goal setting can be one of the most effective tools utilized by anyone who is required to perform at a high level. Even the bank account referenced above focuses on the goals of health and happiness.
Health and happiness are goals but think about how many variations of them there are. What does “health” or “happiness” mean? What do they look like? How do you know you achieved one or both? This is often why so many “New Year’s Resolutions” don’t last.
Goal-setting is a skill. Successful people don’t just throw them out there and hope they achieve them. If you are going to set goals for yourself or your team, think about “SMART” goals.
S: Specific (What does it look like?)
M: Meaningful/Measurable (do they matter to you; how will you know you achieved it)
A: Attainable (is it under your control)
R: Realistic (is it feasible)
T: Time (short vs long term)
Consider how valuable your time is and how many different demands there are for it. What takes priority and when? Learning how to be efficient with it and make the most of it can really be the difference between success and frustration. Learn more about goal setting through Performance Consulting at S2S Functional Performance.
Megan Rahn is a Licensed Professional Counselor specializing in sport performance and injury rehabilitation. She has a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from Texas A&M University and a Master’s in Rehabilitation Counseling from UT Southwestern Medical Center. She worked as a Pain Management Therapist for several years with the University of Texas at Arlington and won a state championship in soccer in 2016 as an assistant coach with Flower Mound High School. Megan is a member of the Association of Applied Sport Psychology. She earned multiple individual and academic honors over her soccer career and graduated high school early and attended Texas Christian University on full athletic scholarship to play soccer. After sustaining a career-ending injury in college, she began studying and focusing on the mental side of elite performance.