Falling short of your goals?  You're in good company.  Most do, and the effect is cumulative— missed goals are de-motivators, and the reasons for missing them can quickly become reasons to give up the fight and flatline your progress. To keep today's resolutions from becoming tomorrow's disappointments, follow these five proven enhancers to your goal setting journey.

Set better goals.

The reasons for missed goals fall into one of two categories: there's a problem with your goal or a problem with your process.  You can cut yourself a break by making sure your goals are reasonable, attainable, and within your control.

Break larger goals into smaller pieces.

Big goals give us a reason to wake up in the morning, so aim big, but the larger your goal, the more likely it will be that it requires a sequence of smaller goals to achieve.  Let your big goal, your outcome goal, be your guiding light, but focus on those smaller proces...

Close your eyes for a second and think of a time when you were at your best in a competition or performance. Put yourself back into that mindset and recall the feelings you experienced. Remember your thoughts from that moment. Did you know exactly what you wanted to achieve? Did you feel that you were equipped with the skills to achieve it? Did time seem to slow down? Did you feel completely in control? Were you concentrated solely on the task in front of you? Did you seem to stop judging yourself?  Were you enjoying yourself completely? If you said yes to most or all of these questions, you may have experienced a psychological state called flow. Flow is an elusive psychological phenomenon that can occur during peak performance of any kind, from playing an instrument, to dancing, working, or exercising. During a flow experience, you have a deep sense of enjoyment and time seems to pass more slowly. Flow is that sort of optimal experience when you feel entirely in tune with your bod...

Lets face it, being injured stinks; especially as an athlete. If you’re a competitive athlete and have experience with injuries, you’re no stranger to the fact that the physical pain you feel is just a small part of the long-term pain that lies ahead in the path to a full recovery (Goldberg, 2016). We’ve all heard the phrase, “Just walk it off, you’ll be fine.” Coaches and parents may be unaware of how severe injuries may be, and at times push athletes to work through the pain (Groom, 2013). However, this unawareness can be detrimental to an athlete's future - both physically and mentally. It is extremely important to educate coaches and parents on the important role that a healthy mentality plays in an athlete's recovery and  performance. Many athletes become overwhelmed by a variety of internal and external losses when t...

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