Specificity of your Goals

[Russ Chewning]

Goal setting, as it pertains to improving your pool game...

I am currently finishing up my last three classes in my Business Administration degree, and I am finding that this last semester has had some of the most valuable information crammed into it.

It deals with Organizational Behavior, Entrepenuership, etc.. Mostly, the "psychology" of business. I just read an interesting concept in my Organizational Behavior book, which deals with setting goals in an organization.

Studies have pretty much proven that if two similarly capable groups are both given goals, with one group being given vague goals, and the other being given very specific goals, that the second group will overwhelming achieve higher performance. In other words, telling someone "do your best" is not necessarily the best idea, when approaching the problem from a position of attempting to improve performance.

I think this has an application in pool. We all know we have to practice in order to get better. We also know that we need to set goals for ourselves in order to get better.

But do we stress enough that the goals need to be specific? As in.. "Right now I can consistently achieve this position route 30% of the time. By next week, I want to raise this percentage to 50%, and within a month, I want to achieve 80%.."

Of course, this is open for discussion. For those teachers on the board that try to present specific goals for their students, please give us a little synopsis of how you accomplish this.

I am curious as to what the results of this disscussion will be. I am not so sure that we are doing this, by and large, and that may account for why some people progress much faster than others, given equal talent.

I think a lot of us have the personality types that we will naturally set attainable, and specific, goals for ourselves. I think some players out their may need assistance with this process. Are we teaching goal-setting skills? Should we be?

If this is not something you've done in the past, how would you go about it? I am talking really specific goals pertaining to all critical parts of the game..



Have at me...

Russ

 

[Mark Avlon]

SMART goals can be very effective.

Specific
Measurable
Attainable
Realistic
Timely

I try to find opportunities that a student has for improvement, create an appropriate drill, and structure an goal for it. For example, I will pocket 8 out of 10 balls in drill #1 in 3 weeks. I will land in the proper position zone 10 out of 10 times in drill # 6 by the end of January. I will finish in the top 25% of the field of the weekly Thursday tournament by March.

Just having a goal won't cut it. A shooter would have a real tough time accomplishing the last example without a plan to achieve it. The plan needs to focus on the opportunities for improvement that are holding the shooter back from success.

There may be obstacles that are in your way, and you will need to find a way past them. This might include making adjustments in mechanics, learning to read the table, how to play effective safeties, or countless other things. The shooter may not know what problems are holding them back, or if they do, they may not know how to correct them. When in doubt, get help from someone that knows.

Of course, motivation and determination will are also necessary to get you to your goal. Keeping track of your progress can be an effective motivator.

 

[Gerry]

good points on the validity of specific goals! As they pertain to pool during practice I like the idea. If you have a set routine of shots, or drills you can set goals and be able to track them honestly by how well you do on your drills. You could in time chart your results and come up with all kinds of analysis from that.

The goals I find difficult are ones that are directed towards competition or performance. I have a hard time staying focused at times, and setting a goal to focus is hard to do because in a match, I don't want to be thinking if I'm focusing enough or not or I will shark myself. Not to mention you can't ask someone else....do you think I was focused enough that last match? ....it's tough....

this should be a good thread!

 

[fdambi]

Good post

It's good to see something constructive. I wouldn't be surprised if Klopek came in here though with his dirty humor and tried to insult you guys. I took a decision making class in college and it forced me to take pool more seriously and objectively, and it improved my winning percentage. The class was geared toward political science but the messages were applicable to anything. Nothing better than an education, or winning at pool!

 

[ShootingArts]

goals

Most of us are type A personalities. You almost have to be to like competing. What I have found for me is that all I have to do is write down a goal and a timeframe. I will make a chart including the projected accomplishment and the timeframe it needs to be done in. Then I will graph my progress. I rarely failed to meet or exceed my goals doing this simply because once the goals are firm targets I tend to do whatever required to accomplish them.

As you say Russ, vague goals mean little. They don't provide a target. "Get better" at something means nothing. 2% better, 90% better? We have to have hard goals and a way to measure and record progress.

Hu

 

[tran.ktt]

hi. first and foremost I wanted to introduce myself. you all can call me tran . I'm new to the boards and hope to gain a lot from not only browsing these boards, but also from fellow players that are on here.

bump for this thread, its good information. I feel that being very goal-specific oriented does improve pool game both mentally and physically. thanks for the info. enjoy.

 

[Patrick Johnson]

[Setting specific goals] ... how would you go about it? I am talking really specific goals pertaining to all critical parts of the game...

I think the important thing is to keep a score of some kind - once you're doing that specific goals come naturally, almost automatically. This is why "progressive" practice techniques are so good: they keep score for you and motivate you to improve in measurable ways (toward specific goals).

pj
chgo

 

[Blackjack]

Russ

I thought I had posted this to the forum before, but I can't find it - so here it is again -

Goal Setting​

The way in which you set goal strongly affects their effectiveness.
Before you start to set goals, you should have set the background of goal setting by:

understanding your commitment
understanding the level you want to reach with this goal
knowing the skills that will have to be acquired and the levels of performance that will be needed to accomplish this goal
know where this will fit into your overall life goals



General Guidelines

The following broad guidelines apply to setting effective goals:

Positive Statement: express your goals positively: "To execute this technique perfectly' is a much better goal than 'don't make this stupid mistake"

Be Precise: if you set a precise goal, putting in dates, times and amounts so that achievement can be measured, then you know the exact goal to be achieved, and can take complete satisfaction from having completely achieved it.

Set Priorities: where you have several goals, give each a priority. This helps you to avoid feeling overwhelmed by too many goals, and helps to direct your attention to the most important ones.

Write goals down to avoid confusion and give them more force.

Keep Operational Goals Small: Keep the goals you are working towards immediately (i.e. in this session) small and achievable. If a goal is too large, then it can seem that you are not making progress towards it. Keeping goals small and incremental gives more opportunities for reward. Today's goals should be derived from larger goals.

Important Points
A number of general principles should be noted about goal setting:

Set Performance, not Outcome Goals
This is very important. You should take care to set goals over which you have as much control as possible - there is nothing as dispiriting as failing to achieve a personal goal for reasons beyond your control such as poor judging, bad weather, injury, excellence in other athletes, or just plain bad luck. Goals based on outcomes are extremely vulnerable to things beyond your control.

If you base your goals on personal performance targets or skills to be acquired, then you can keep control over the achievement of your goals and draw satisfaction from them. For example, you might achieve a personal best time, but still be disqualified as a result of a poor judging decision. If you set an outcome goal of being in the top three, then this will be a defeat. If you set a performance goal of achieving a particular time, then you will have achieved the goal and can draw satisfaction and self-confidence from its achievement.

Another flaw is where outcome goals are based on the rewards of winning, whether these are financial or are based on the recognition of being a winner. In early stages these will be highly motivating factors, however as they are achieved, the benefit of winning another prize or championship at the same level reduces. You will become progressively less motivated.

One difficulty you will face is that people who are ignorant of goal setting psychology, and such people will base their assessment of success on winning. This completely ignores the effect of raw luck on high quality performance. As with many things, stick with what you know is right rather than what uninformed people think.

Set Specific Goals
Set specific measurable goals. If you achieve all conditions of a measurable goal, then you can be confident and comfortable in its achievement. If you consistently fail to meet a measurable goal, then you can adjust it or analyze the reason for failure and take appropriate action to improve skills.

Set Realistic Goals
Goals may be set unrealistically high for the following reasons:

Other people: Other people (friends, family, boss, co-workers) can set unrealistic goals for you, based on what they want. Often this will be done in ignorance of your goals and training programs.

Insufficient information: If you do not have a clear, realistic understanding of your goal and of the techniques and performance to be mastered, it is difficult to set effective and realistic goals.

Always expecting your best performance: Many people base their goals on their best performance, however long ago that was. This ignores the inevitable backsliding that can occur for good reasons, and ignores the factors that led to that best performance. It is better to set goals that raise your average performance and make it more consistent.

Lack of respect for self: If you do not respect your right to rest, relaxation and pleasure in life then you risk burnout.

Setting Goals Too Low
Alternatively goals can be set too low because of:

Fear of failure: If you are frightened of failure you will not take the risks needed for optimum performance. As you apply goal setting and see the achievement of goals, your self- confidence should increase, helping you to take bigger risks.

Know that failure is a positive thing: it shows you areas where you can improve your skills and performance.

Taking it too easy: It is easy to take the reasons for not setting goals unrealistically high as an excuse to set them too low. If you're not prepared to stretch yourself and work hard, then you are extremely unlikely to achieve anything of any real worth.

Setting Goals at the Right Level
Setting goals at the correct level is a skill that is acquired by practice.

You should set goals so that they are slightly out of your immediate grasp, but not so far that there is no hope of achieving them: no-one will put serious effort into achieving a goal that they believe is unrealistic. However, remember that the belief that a goal is unrealistic may be incorrect. Such a belief can be changed by effective use of imagery.

Personal factors such as tiredness, health, time constraint issues, etc. should be taken into account when goals are set.

 

[tksix]

Great discussion!
Below is a thread that I started in the Snooker forum. I was given the advise by a couple of 100 ball runners in the area. Last night I hit 104 in line-up. Documenting the daily results has given me short term goals to achieve, while striving for the higher ones. It has also started programming my mind in a more positive direction. Every day a previous level is matched or overcome. It has certainly helped me.


I have set my goal for the elusive 100 during practice. I am well aware that match play is many times more difficult. However, my practice sessions have been dedicated to the 100. The goal is 100 in line up / 100 in practice match play / 100 in straight pool. I have been documenting my progress.

Last night I hit 99 in line up, the break ended as I missed a blue in the corner. I felt I had it, I was sure I had. I hit the blue well but it bobbled, so not well enough. The reds were gone and only the colors remained, with my cue landing perfectly for a shot on the yellow.

I have been documenting progress since the first of the year. I am beginning to understand that it is a comfort level or confidence level. It seems that in the categories I want to hit 100 in I am gaining comfort monthly if not daily. The scores that are achieved on average go up by about 10 or so every month. I practice about 5-10 hours a week.

In straight pool it was 40 something in January now I am at 69 as a high.

In practice match play on the snooker table it was 20 breaks when a red was open in January. Today I can pull enough reds out to achieve 30 or 40breaks relatively consistently. With 66 being the high.

Same in line up, 50's were consistant now it is 70' or 80's with 99 the high.

I am no champion for sure. But I guess the point here is organized, documented practice seems to be working for me. Hopefully I reach the 100 by the end of year!!

 

[Fuji-whopper]

Spoke with Thorsten at length about this same thing last night, it's the reason why he came back to Jacksonville at this time. He is going to focus on the German PAT and rate himself to chart his progress in the following few weeks.

His regiment about practice and physical training is hard to follow when you travel as much as he does and he is happy to be "home" to settle down and focus on his training. And you are absolutely correct you need very specific goals along with time frames on which to attain those goals or at least see where you stand in respect to them.