Goal Setting in Munchable Chunks
By Jimmy Yoo, MA Sport Psychology "Over the years, I’ve given myself a thousand reasons to keep running, but it always comes back to where it started. It comes down to self-satisfaction and a sense of achievement." -Steve Prefontaine This is one of my favorite quotes! While winning and success are a part of sports and competition, it isn’t the main reason why athletes compete or why they love their sport. Joy, fun, and personal passion are the motivation! As I write this, there are probably athletes wondering, “So how do I do this?” During one of my recent workshops with a swim club, we discussed the importance of doing things in MUNCHABLE CHUNKS. The question I posed to the group was, “If I asked you to eat a large pizza in one bite, could you do it?” Answers included: “no, that’s impossible,” “it would get messy,” and “huh, I’m not even sure how I would do that.” The art to eating a pizza is similar to an athlete’s approach to sport. If I only focus on the end result, I can get caught up thinking things like, “this is impossible, so why bother trying,” “if I try this and fail, what will others think of me,” or “there’s so much I need to accomplish, I don’t know where to start.” While it is good to have the end result in mind, to accomplish the task at hand (be it practice or competition) athletes need to focus on the small things that help them in the moment. Taking things in munchable chunks allows an athlete to focus on the task at hand. For example, a swimmer who focuses on the little things (that are [...]