New Year’s Goal Setting

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Aloha from Hawaii, Akrosphere families!  I spent the holidays from the sunny shores of Oahu this year, but as my time here comes to a close, I’ve been thinking about the New Year and what that means for my upcoming year as an acrobatic professional.  Not one to believe in making New Year’s resolutions (because let’s face it, who actually follows those for the entire year?!), I’m much more of a fan of setting goals.  Goals are kind of crucial in the world of circus so that you don’t end up training just for the sake of training; they can actually guide HOW you train and allow you to come up with a plan to achieve success.  I did some research and found a really awesome article from MindTools about the “Golden Rules of Goal Setting” that I’d like to pick apart and share with you.  Please share these concepts with your budding aerialists and acrobats so that they too can start thinking about setting goals, both in the short term (what do they want to accomplish every class/Open Gym session) and in the long term (they want to be able to do 5 pull-ups in a row on fabric…what do they need to do to get there?).  And so, I give you…the Golden Rules of Goal Setting:

1. Set Goals That Motivate You

Your goal has to motivate you; otherwise, you won’t care if you achieve it or not.  You must be invested in it and want to see it through.  If you say that you want to be able to do 5 pull-ups in a row but don’t REALLY want or care about the pull-ups, you’ll never achieve that goal because in your heart of hearts, you’re just not in it to win it.  Want a tip to help with this process?  Write down why this goal is important and why it motivates you to succeed.  Ie. “pull-ups are important because they will assist me in my bent arm hang and inversions.”

2. Set SMART Goals

 

  • Specific.
  • Measurable.
  • Attainable.
  • Relevant.
  • Time Bound.

 

This is a really important step, and I love it because it encompasses everything that a goal should be!  Specific goals are ones that are clearly defined.  Vague goals do not provide you with any sense of direction, so make them as specific as possible.  Measurable goals are ones that can be quantified with amounts, dates, etc.  A goal such as “I want to be better at climbing” is not measurable because there’s no way to quantify success, so change that to “I want to be able to climb to the top of the fabric two full times without resting.”  Attainable goals are those that are actually realistic.  Will you be able to achieve a double star salto windmill back flip bomb drop in Level 1?  Probably not because we don’t cover drops in Level 1.  Make sure those goals are attainable for where you are at today.  Setting relevant goals means that the goal is in line with where you want to be in the future.  Does your goal help or hinder your future vision of you?  If it doesn’t help you, think about altering your goal or your future image.  Setting time-bound goals gives a sense of urgency to your goal and makes you work harder to achieve it.  It provides a deadline or a “crunch time,” if you will.

3. Set Goals in Writing

Writing down your goals makes them real and tangible instead of this vague, far off thought in the back of your mind.  You have no excuse for forgetting about your goal if you write it down.  Use the word “will” instead of “I’d like”.  Use action verbs that will prompt you to take action!  You know those notebooks that we gave you when you had your first day of class?  Use them!!!

4. Make an Action Plan

This step is often forgotten about when people craft their goals.  They’re so focused on the end result that they fail to plan HOW to get there!  Write down the steps that you will need to achieve success.  This is crucial in the short term process.  If your long term goal is to have a 10-second tuck handstand, then your short term goal for every Handstand class and Open Gym session can be something like “do 10 tuck up handstands without rest”.  And I would go so far as to have a midterm goal (kind of an extension of the short term goal): I will do 10 tuck up handstands four times per week for the next 8 weeks.  See where you’re at after those 8 weeks, and I guarantee it’ll be better than before you started!

5. Stick With It!

Setting a goal is kind of a long term thing, so don’t get discouraged if it’s not accomplished overnight.  I like taking photos and videos of my training to remind myself of how far I’ve come when I’m having a bad training day.  Keeping a journal can also be a good thing to monitor progress as well.  Don’t give up!

Ok, peeps, I’m off to the North Shore now to go ponder life and my own goals for 2019, but I hope that this post helps guide your own goals for the New Year and can help your little ones craft their training goals for this upcoming session!

Mahalo and Happy New Year,

Angelica 0=)