top of page

Three Mental Training Tips to Ensure You Accomplish Your Next Goal

Writer's picture: Carrie JacksonCarrie Jackson

In the 1960s, Stanford professor Walter Mischel set out to do an experiment. He tested hundreds of four- to five-year-old children on what turned out to be a key component to future success in work, health, and life. Researchers brought each subject (a four- to five-year-old kid) into a private room and set a single marshmallow down on the table directly in front of them. The researcher explained that he or she would now leave the room, and if the child didn't eat the marshmallow sitting in front of them while the researcher was gone, the child would get another marshmallow when the researcher came back. The researcher then left the room for fifteen minutes to let the child decide: one marshmallow now or two marshmallows later?


When people talk about being happy, there are two different aspects to this concept. There is happiness we find on a daily basis through joyful activities, and then there is the happiness we find in having a greater meaning that contributes to overall life satisfaction. There is both feeling happy in our lives and feeling happy about our lives.

Happiness about our lives sometimes includes going after bigger goals and pushing ourselves to see what we're truly capable of. It includes working toward something that brings us both joy (because we enjoyed the pursuit) and satisfaction (because we had to work hard to get it). When we go after a big goal, at some point we will be required to trade the immediate perceived reward for the bigger reward down the road. Big goals can mean big sacrifices, like not eating the marshmallow sitting in front of us.

If you've ever had an unfinished goal, you know how frustrating and heartbreaking it can be. You were on the path, took an unexpected side trip, and never found the road leading back to your goal. What athletes don't always know is that when we don't accomplish a goal, we didn't necessarily fail at the goal; more likely, we failed at our goal-setting strategy.


Here are three essential and research-proven goal-setting techniques for delaying gratification and holding out for the bigger reward.

Have a plan

We need to know exactly what we want and exactly how we're going to get it. It's worth putting in the time to formalize a goal and get specific with strategy. The more specific we are with our vision and plan, the more likely we are to act on it.

Write down the goal and share it with friends

Athletes who put their goal in writing and share it publicly will increase the probability of accomplishing their goals. Telling people about our goals and writing it down are added accountability factors that can increase the likelihood that we will follow through.

Know your why

Why is this goal important to you?


Why is this the right time to go after this goal?


How does this goal connect to your values and the person you want to be?


When we think to ourselves, I don’t know if I can do it today, and we're trying to find motivation, connecting to our "why" can be a powerful reminder of what's really important and can help us make a decision from that place. It helps us hold out for two marshmallows.


And speaking of marshmallows, you might be wondering what the kids did when the researcher left the room. Some kids had no problem at all waiting patiently for their second marshmallow. Others immediately grabbed the marshmallow and shoved it in their mouths. And then some of the kids came up with strategies like covering their eyes and sitting on their hands to try and hold out for the bigger reward.


What's really fascinating, however, are the follow-up studies. Over the course of forty years after the initial experiment, some interesting differences emerged between the children who were able to delay gratification for two marshmallows later and the children who chose one marshmallow immediately. The research from this study and subsequent studies on delayed gratification are pretty clear: the ability to delay gratification is essential for success. We set goals to fulfill dreams, to move from wishing something would happen to making it happen. And when we are truly committed to a goal, there is no amount of marshmallows that will derail us, because we know that the bigger reward is waiting for us down the road.


 

At BaseCamp, we believe that every cyclist has the potential to achieve greatness, no matter where they start. Our mission is to create a community-driven training environment where cyclists and triathletes of all levels can train together, support each other, and grow stronger, faster, and more confident in their abilities. Our cycling training programs are expert driven and tailored to your needs. Whether you're a seasoned pro or just getting started, BaseCamp is where you belong.

Yorumlar


bottom of page