Those of you who have been training with me for a while will no doubt have heard me say how important "goal setting" is and how training in martial arts is a great way to practise and improve this ability. "Goal setting" is a skill that needs to be practised to give us the confidence we need to be able to set goals and achieve them, starting off with smaller goals and then working our way up to larger goals.
Once we start to build confidence in our "goal setting" ability we can then focus this skill on any part of our life with great results. I'm reading a book at the moment called,"The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People", by Stephen.R.Covey ( which I highly recommend ) and I was struck by the way he puts the skill of "goal setting" into words. He says,"It is here that we find two ways to put ourselves in control of our lives immediately. We can MAKE a promise - and keep it. Or we can SET a GOAL - and
work to achieve it. As we make and keep commitments, even small commitments, we begin to establish an inner integrity that gives us the awareness of self - control and the courage and strength to accept more of the responsibility for our lives. By making and keeping promises to ourselves and others, little by little, our honor becomes greater than our moods.
The power to make and keep commitments to ourselves is the essence of developing the basic habits of effectiveness. Knowledge, skill, and desire are all within our control. We can work on any one to improve the balance of the three. As the area of intersection becomes larger, we more deeply internalise the principles upon which the habits are based and create the strength of character to move us in a balanced way towards increasing effectiveness in our lives."
I hope now that you can see the importance of "goal setting". For the younger members of the club, the sooner you start to practise "goal setting" the better. I hope you've enjoyed reading this article. See you at training.
