The Achievement Of Sports Challenges And Their Implications

The achievement of sports challenges and their implications

Sports challenges are the main source of motivation for the athlete. Throughout the season all athletes must establish short, medium and long term objectives. If these objectives are well set, they become challenges that mobilize the athlete to act.

Sports challenges are challenges. These can be aimed at acquiring or perfecting skills: task -oriented challenges. Or they can also be oriented towards success in competitions and achieve achievements: ego -oriented challenges.

The main psychological technique to achieve challenges is the establishment of objectives. This technique is based on defining goals based on criteria so that the probability of achieving them are maximized. To get the most out of the objectives, they must be set with the help of a sports psychologist.

The criteria that govern the establishment of objectives are multiple. The decision to take into account one or the other will depend on what you want to achieve. Even so, psychologists consider that there are fundamental guidelines to which attention should be paid.

What criteria should be taken into account to achieve sports challenges?

Several acronyms have been proposed to facilitate the task of formulating objectives. In each acronym the letters correspond to characteristics that must be present and that maximize the probabilities of success.

Criteria.M.A.R.T

• This criterion is the most used to establish objectives.

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  Its use goes beyond the sports field and extends to work, educational and staff.

• Specific (specific): The challenges raised must refer to a specific aspect and have to be well delimited. To achieve specific objectives, plant the question: what do I want to get?
• Measurable (measurable): You must have some form of evaluation to know if the proposed objective has been achieved. In addition, the measurable objectives have a positive impact on self-confidence because there is information about individual progress.
• Attainable (attainable): they must be within the capacities of each. Very demanding objectives only generate frustration and decrease motivation.
• Relay (relevant): The challenge must be related to sports and have personal importance for the athlete.
• Time-Limited (Temporalized): Temporary consists of establishing short, medium and long term challenges. That is, you have to establish a specific time frame to achieve it.

Criteria c.L.AND.A.R

• Challenging (challenging): The goal must have a certain level of difficulty. The too easy objectives do not motivate, but extremely difficult generate frustration and anxiety.
• Legal: All challenges must take into account the legal framework of the context. In the case of sport, this would imply discarding any challenge that implies attacks on rivals or doping.
• Emotional (emotional): The challenges that have a certain emotional component are more stimulating. But you have to be careful, it is also not desirable to raise challenges with a great emotional burden.
• Appropriatte (appropriate): This criterion refers to coherence between objectives. All the objectives formulated must be compatible with each other, not contradictory.
• Refinable (optimizable): the objectives are not dogmas. These must be readjusted according to personal and environmental circumstances. As the challenges progress, they must increase in difficulty maintaining a high level of motivation.

Criteria p.OR.R.AND

• Positively Stated (positively formulated): It is much more effective to formulate objectives from the statements that from the denials. The claims mobilize to achieve a reward, denials to avoid punishment. 
• Understood (understandable): The athlete must perfectly understand the challenge to achieve. The confusion regarding what the goal is or how to achieve it generate distraction and waste of time.
• Relay (relevant): The objective must be relevant and important for the athlete. The greater the degree of involvement of the athlete in the definition of an objective, the greater its personal meaning. 
• Ethical (ethical): not only must the legal framework take into account, but the personal ethics of each. The objectives that involve an ethical conflict generate a state of doubt that prevents action.

Establishing good objectives is not a simple task

Although most of the athletes are not difficult for them to say what they want to achieve, define the goals and draw an action plan is not so simple. That is why psychologist, athlete and coach must work together contributing their point of view, taking into account the physical, technical, tactical and psychological aspect. 

The technique of establishing objectives can not only be applied to achieve sports challenges and increase motivation. Also its use is very successful in processes such as recovery after an injury.