Athletes tend to be goal-seeking missiles during their sporting career. It is their goals that keep them motivated and help them to achieve success. Goals are just as important away from the sporting field as it was within. 

It is one of the keys to moving forward and treading a new path. Without goals there is no drive or motivation.  I’ve talked to clients that say, “I just don’t have the motivation to do things.” Often when I’ve probed them further and asked them about their goals, I discover they don’t have any.

In Lewis Carroll’s famous classic, “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” Alice comes to a fork in the road and there is the Cheshire Cat. She asks the Cat, “Which road should I take?” and the Cheshire Cat replies, “Well, it depends… Where do you want to go?” Alice responds, “I don’t know,” and the cat says, “Then it doesn’t really matter which road you take, does it?” 

A lack of direction can leave an individual with too many choices that often make it more challenging to decide what to do. With clearly defined goals, the decision-making process becomes easier.

Goals need to be towards what one wants, rather than what they don’t want. Compare these two –

“My goal is to have a successful speaking career.”

“My goal is to not play sport anymore.”

Which goal feels more appealing and lifts you up and towards your dream?

Goals need to be clear and specific. For example, if you want to make more money, how much money specifically do you want to make? An athlete will have applied the same principles to their sporting career. You see, I dreamed of going to the Olympic Games from when I was 10 years old and was a young gymnast. It took me 25 years to realize my goal, but I did it, in the sport of beach volleyball.

I know of other athletes who dreamt of winning a gold medal, and that is exactly what they did! I look back now and think, (knowing what I know now), why didn’t I dream higher? Why didn’t I go for it? Going for that bigger goal would have been worth it, and I would have been happy with that bronze. 

Start to think big. I made the mistake of playing small when I first retired from sport and was settling for mediocrity. It took me six years to realise that I could do so much more and now have greater dreams that I continue to grow as I achieve my goals.  

I advise clients to imagine if they could wave a magic wand, what is it that they would want to create for their life? Decide the ‘what’ and ‘when’ and then get really clear about what it looks like. What does it look like when the goal is achieved?  Maybe even try it on for size, to make sure it really is a goal worth going for. One can go further and imagine the feelings of being there achieving that goal as if it was happening right now. 

The first step to creating a new life after sport is to determine where to go. Define clear goals and write them down. Write down a whole list, and dream big.   

 

About the Author 

Annette Huygens Tholen is a former international beach volleyball player and participated in the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. She experienced the difficulties of transition from sport and is now a Master Results Coach and International speaker using her learnings and experience to empower athletes to reproduce emotional and financial success in their life after sport.  Annette also teaches seminars for the world's biggest NLP Coaching and Training Organisation -The Christopher Howard Companies.  For more information on how to successfully transition after sport, please visit www.annetteffect.com and sign up for the free mini-Ecourse.

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