PezCycling News - What's Cool In Pro Cycling

A considerable amount of of my energy is spent on helping athletes develop realistic long and short term goals. Goal setting is a critical part of achieving success as an athlete: without clear and realistic goals, an effective roadmap (your training plan) can not be developed. But goal setting is an elusive animal because our vocabulary for goal setting is limited. When we think of training, we automatically default to thoughts of developing our bodies and not our minds and our goals.

The following article by Marvin will hopefully provoke some thoughts about the importance of goal setting.


PezCycling News - What's Cool In Pro Cycling: "Toolbox: Train Your Mind, Part 2
Tuesday, February 20, 2007 7:01:30 AM PT


Goal-setting is a common weakness for struggling athletes and a common strength for successful athletes. Do it wrong – or avoid it altogether – and watch your chances for success plummet. Do it right, and watch your motivation and self-confidence improve. For many athletes, it’s the key to enhancing performance.

By Marvin Zauderer

Last month, I introduced the five core skills of mentally fit athletes: Goal-Setting, Self-Talk, Arousal Management, Concentration, and People Skills. This month, I explore Goal-Setting in more depth.

Let’s start with a research-proven fact: if you believe in yourself, you’re more likely to be successful. I know that’s not rocket science. But ask yourself: what affects your belief in yourself as an athlete?

Many years ago, psychologist Albert Bandura defined, studied, and expanded the concept of self-efficacy: the belief that you have the power to produce a desired effect. If, for a particular task, your self-efficacy is high, you’re more likely to engage in that task. You’re also more likely to work harder and be more persistent. And, you’re more likely to attribute failure to external factors (“My training wasn’t"