TKD Tools for Success: Goal Planning

Most people have goals but aren't so good at reaching them. Maybe you want to get fitter, have a better side piercing kick and improve your patterns for a tournament. All of these goals are 'big picture' that are motivating (if it's something you truly want to do) but lack the detail to propel you into action. If you stop there, your goal will remain a lovely thought with little progress.

If you want to take action and really achieve your goal, you need to continue on from goal setting to goal planning. In goal planning you work out the actions you will need to take to achieve your goal in specific detail, breaking them into smaller goals.

Let's look at the "have a better side piercing kick" goal. We've identified the big picture goal - now what will it take to get there?

We could say practice, but that isn't specific enough. If you include more detail about when, where and how, and write it down, you will improve your chances of follow through by over 50%.

So, practice on Mondays and Wednesdays is better, but practice for 20 minutes on Mondays and Wednesdays in the backyard at 7am is even better still.

To satisfy the 'how', make up a training plan of exactly how many repetitions of different exercises to improve your side piercing kick you will do so that your practice session is meaningful.

And of course you can ask your instructor for help in setting up a training plan too.

Remember:
A goal without a plan is just a wish.

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Read the other articles in this series, TKD Tools for Success:
​
Mindset Matters
Goal Planning
Mental Contrasting
​Self Talk