I know we’re ready to move on from 2020, but there’s still 2 weeks left until that ball drops and we get to the next year. New Year's Resolutions are made, and fail or succeed from year to year. I want to talk with you about disc golf resolutions and how I can help you get what you want in 2021. I’ll share my personal goal for the new year.
2020 was a real wash for me in disc golf. I broke my elbow in June and got a finger injury in July. I ended up listening to doctors orders (after being foolishly stubborn) and taking time off from playing. But I was fortunate to be able to write, caddy, coach, and play a little bit towards the end of the season. I want to move on, but I don’t want to forget that feeling I’ve had this year. Let’s turn that struggle into success.
So let’s set up some SMART goals. If you’re not familiar with the term here is the acronym given to us by George Doran, Arthur Miller, and James Cunningham that will help sharpen our goals and make them better for us.
Specific
Measureable
Achievable
Relevant
Time bound
- Take this blog worksheet and print it out.
- Put it on your bedroom wall and look at it.
- Listen to some power songs to get inspired and fill it out. I’m a big fan of listening to the Rocky 4 soundtrack when I’m setting lofty goals. Pick something inspiring for you.
What is your specific goal? Not get better at disc golf, be a better putter, or have more drives land in the fairway. No pick a specific goal (or goals) for 2021.
Have you never beaten your friend Cole? That would be a good goal. Is there a course that you’re struggling to get par on? Getting par or better would be a good goal. Whatever it is that you want in disc golf, put it here.
My 2021 specific goal for disc golf is...
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Good job. You’ve got the goal you want. Now we have to measure that goal. Goals have to be measurable so you know if you’ve completed them. So let’s set the measurements together. If you want to achieve a certain score then that’s already measured. No matter what, find a way to measure your goal.
How am I going to measure success? My goal will be a success if I...
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There you go. You’ve got a goal and how to measure it. Now it’s onto achievable goals. This is where it gets a little tricky. I’m going to encourage everyone to dream big. If you need a hype man to get you motivated follow the company twitter account @PlaySDG that I run and I’ll gladly hype you up. So let’s talk about achievable, your goal has to be something realistic. My goal isn’t to beat Paige Pierce in a round because it’s unlikely she and I will play together in 2021 (also because she’s significantly better than me in every aspect of the game). Make sure your goal is something that you can attain. Put the work in too. Don’t make a wimpy goal that you know you’ll achieve in a weekend.
My goal will be attainable by doing this exercise…
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Onto relevancy. Is this goal something you want? I’d like to drive 450’ again but I don’t know that I want to or care about it. That would be a bad goal for me to write down. How important is this goal to my overall improvement as a disc golfer? I want something that I’m going to care about not just today, but every time I look at this piece of paper on the wall.
How important is this to me? What will I sacrifice timewise in order to achieve my goal…
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Onto the last part, time. When will I achieve my goal? This isn’t a bucket list, I want something you’re going to do in 2021. You have up to 365 days to get it done that should hopefully be enough time for you. Don’t make a goal here that’s clearly going to take you several years. I won’t shoot up to a 1000 rating in a year so that shouldn’t be my goal. If you’re a college student who works full time and has 5 kids, don’t make it your goal to go on the DGPT. Make something reasonable that you can devote time to.
I’m going to work this many hours per week on my goal, and I will achieve it by this day…
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Great. You’ve made your goals. Let’s put it all together at the bottom here.
My 2021 disc golf goal is to…
I will consider myself successful if I achieve…
This is how I will achieve my disc golf goal, by ….
Why is this important to me?
How much time will I truly devote to this, and when will I have it done by?
You’ve got your SMART goal now it’s time to get to work. One of the last things I’ll mention is accountability. Only you know whether you’ve achieved your goal, but telling others will help you as you work on it. So I’m going to make a goal as well and share it with all of you.
Streeter’s Goal
My goal is to shoot a 48 or better on the Hawk this year. I will consider myself a success if I get a 48 or better. This is relevant to me because my best is a 49 and I haven’t shot that in a few years now. I haven’t put in as much on my game in the last 2 years and it’s starting to show, I miss guaranteed putts and shots that I used to hit. It’s achievable, I’ve birdied every hole on the course a few times, just not all in one round. What am I going to give up to achieve this? I will graduate in May and not have school this summer. I’m also going to devote time to work on my putting every week, not every day because I’ll miss days and feel like a failure. I think 3 hours per week putting is sufficient practice for my goal. I’ll play at least one round per week so that will be an additional 1.5 hours. The last part is when will I achieve the goal? I will have my 48 or better round by September 1st.
Those are my goals. If you feel comfortable sharing, I’d love to hear your disc golf goals. Once you have them share it in the comments here.
Now let’s get to work.
May your discs miss all the trees,
Andrew Streeter #70397