It's All about the Journey

Last week, I talked about Mind Gym: An Athlete’s Guide to Inner Excellence by Gary Mack with David Casstevens. I discussed a chapter that promotes enjoying the competitive experience as a way to perform better.

Another chapter has a Carl Lewis quote at the beginning that keeps everything in perspective:

It’s all about the journey, not the outcome.

To make the most of the journey, sports psychology consultant Gary Mack encourages athletes to use goals as

a way of bringing the future into the present so you can take action now. Goals improve performance. Goals improve the quality of practices. They clarify expectations and help increase self-confidence by seeing yourself get better. . . . goals also increase the motivation to achieve.

To set the most productive goals, Mack suggests using the acronym SMART, which stands for specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound goals. SMART goals are used in many areas, although the represented words may vary slightly. Mack encourages athletes to set daily or short-term goals and reach long-term goals by breaking them down into steps. He says: