B07. Goal Setting (2) SMART and Challenging

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When setting goals in sports, it is recommended to set them based on SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-related) (Bird, MD, et al. 2024). Specific means concrete , measurable means measurable , achievable means attainable , realistic means realistic , and time-related means time-limited . In other words, it is recommended that goals be set to be specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and with a deadline. It is important to dream big and set SMART and challenging goals. I would like to explain SMART one by one.

Being specific is not considered to be something abstract like working hard or making an effort. For example, if you want to become a member of the Japanese national team, you will set the record as your performance goal. The process goals will be challenges in terms of physical strength, technical ability and mental strength that need to achieve the performance goal, and they will be things that you will challenge yourself with every day. On the mental side, visualization, mindfulness, and practice to change the way you perceive things might be the targets.

If it is measurable and can be quantified, it will be clear whether you have achieved it or not. For example, a quantified goal such as a certain number of seconds for 100 meters in a sprint or taking 100 three-point shots every day. After challenging yourself for a while, it will become clear whether you have achieved it or not, so you can look at the results and make corrections to make it more appropriate.

To set an achievable goal, you need to understand your current situation. It is important to set a goal that you feel you can reach if you take on the challenge and put in the effort, given your current situation.

Realistic goals. No matter how achievable and specific your goals may be, they need to be actionable. The training location may be too far away, the training may be prohibitively expensive, or the goal may not even be viable in the long term.

It is necessary to set a time-related deadline for this goal. If you set it too far in the future, it will take too long to achieve it, and you will not be able to feel a sense of accomplishment from your daily training or the sense of self-efficacy that comes from accomplishing it. On the other hand, if you do not have a long-term goal, you will lose sight of where you are heading. Generally, long-term goals, short-term goals, and mid-term goals are set separately for different periods. The deadline for long-term goals is one to four years (the interval between Olympic games), and mid-term goals of about four to six weeks are set toward that long-term goal, and small successes are repeated by setting and clearing short-term goals every day or week to reach that goal .

Natsumi Tsunoda, gold medalist in the 48kg women's judo category at the 2024 Paris Olympics, said before the Paris Olympics, "This is my first Olympics, and I'm feeling nervousness and anxiety that I don't feel in regular matches. I think I've prepared well enough to enjoy it because it's something I can only feel at the Olympics. I'll take the voices of everyone cheering me on as strength, believe in myself in the end, and do my best to perform well . Thank you for your support." (Olympics [Comments from TEAM JAPAN] 2024.08.11) In the stressful situation of the Olympics, strong anxiety and tension arise, but rather than aiming to “win and get a gold medal”, the goal was to “enjoy yourself and give a good performance”, and I think that the confidence gained from achieving this process goal made her believe in herself.