You can get some conflicting advice with regards to how high you should set your goals. Going into my first World Championship I set a target for myself of finishing in the top 30, based on how well I finished at some regional competitions.

I ended up finishing 23rd at that Worlds and was pleased with that result as it also meant I would get a little Government funding which would help me to campaign for the next Worlds.

Later, I told that goal to our head coach at the time and he replied, somewhat gruffly, “that I needed to set my goals higher”. It was true, I did, so I set my standards higher.

After a few more years of solid training I was winning big events against the best of them, but still, I found reasons to critise my performance. And therein lies my point - to get really good at sport you have to sacrifice, expect a lot, push yourself hard and never be satisfied:
I read once that the great tennis player Ivan Lendl once celebrated a Major win with a 70km bike ride the next day.

However, after a while the ‘fun’ of this commitment and self-deprivation can wear out. And then, should you have a bad result, the fun of the sport really wears out.

So, seeing that you can’t be sure that success will keep coming your way, I took the advice to celebrate my victories - taking time to reflect on the work done to date, what that meant personally and being proud of accomplishment.

So I suggest to set your goals with imagination and passion, and while you’re doing that, have a few “stretch” goals that excite you so much that the thought of achieving them gives you butterflies. When you achieve them reward yourself!

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