Setting healthy goals is a critical aspect to our daily lifestyles. Goals can promote improvement, provide direction and help motivate people. However, it is important to understand the difference between a healthy goal and an unrealistic one and to create balanced goals to ensure success. To live happily and productively, one must understand the importance of healthy goals that are realistic and do not interfere with their self-worth.
Many student-athletes create goals for themselves to increase their chances of success. Freshman Allainna Siwy is a three-sport athlete who participates in softball, basketball and track. She has been playing sports since she was four years old. Her current primary goals are performing to her full ability and earning a spot on the roster for each of her high school teams. As a young athlete, Siwy understands the benefits of establishing personalized goals.
“If you set goals for yourself in the future, it helps you think of how you can improve and consider the big picture,” Siwy said. She believes that goals allow her to focus on her flaws and constantly refine her skills, which leads her to achieve her ideal performance levels.
Regardless of these positives, Siwy also pointed out the negative outcomes that may result from goals.
“When I make a mistake, I get mad at myself because I know that I can do better than what I have done,” Siwy said. “I worry that my coaches and teammates might think that I am not good enough and might be unhappy with me.” She admitted to having set unrealistic goals for herself in the past, even explaining how these not only affected her, but her team as well.
“We were at State [for softball] and I messed up really bad,” Siwy said. “I got really hard on myself, which made the entire team’s mood drop, and we ended up losing that State game.”
Guidance counselor Colleen Russell highlighted just how essential goal-setting is for academic success. She explained that it helps students approach their schoolwork with intention. She stressed the importance of developing executive functioning skills to manage both the material and the demands of student life.
“Where I see students struggle is where they don’t have those [skills] and they’re kind of passive participants in the classroom,” Russell said. By actively setting and following through on goals, students are better equipped to stay motivated and organized, both of which are key factors in academic achievement. The importance of understanding where that fine line falls in relation to how one sets their goals is determined by being realistic with what they are able to accomplish. “You have to set boundaries and be mindful and cognizant of what is actually realistic so you don’t burn yourself out,” Russell said.
The importance of students setting realistic goals is based on their individual motivations and circumstances. Russell explained that using SMART goals – ones that are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time-bound – can help create clarity and structure.
“Be specific, not just saying, ‘I want to do well,’ but understanding what doing well looks like for you,” Russell said. For one student, success might be earning a C in an advanced class, but for another student it could mean completing 90% of their assignments or consistently checking in with a teacher. Russell also highlighted the need to balance academic goals with personal well-being, suggesting that students should create boundaries to avoid burnout.
“You’re in control of your school work, and your school work is not in control of you,” Russell said.
From an athletic standpoint, goals can be viewed from two perspectives: that of the athlete and that of the coach.
“In order to be an effective goal, it has to have four important factors,” said Rosary High School and Academy Bullets swim club coach Glenn Brown, who has also worked with past Kaneland swimmers. “It has to be exact, incorporating a time and a deadline. You have to be willing to put in the work to achieve said goal. Do not make an empty goal with a hope to do it, without doing the work that is necessary to achieve it. Hold yourself accountable to it by putting it somewhere that you will see it every day.”
The support that coaches give is critical to the accomplishment of an athlete’s goals.
“I hold my athletes accountable to their goals,” Brown said. “If we want to achieve what our team thinks we can achieve, then we need to be better than what we are right now. That [notion] usually lights a fire.” The most important aspect to achieving goals is a positive mindset that promotes growth. If one has doubts about their goals, they will have already convinced themselves that they will not succeed, so that will be the only result to come. “You must try before you criticize, and criticizing has no place on my team,” Brown said.
Setting healthy and realistic goals is an important part of personal development to achieve both academic and athletic success. Once realistic goals are defined, it is vital to put in the effort and follow through to meet your expectations. Ultimately, goals should serve as a tool for growth, not a source of pressure, allowing individuals to thrive both personally and professionally.
