WOW…..!!!!
Another year gone, another year upon us. Where did the time go? How many games, how many practices, how many laps, crunches?
But the most important two questions we must ask: Did we grow as a player, as a person? And did we have fun?
Whether you answered the above questions yes or no, we must not settle on our past laurels. It is now time to make our goals (if you haven’t already done so) for 2009. Notice, I said goals, not resolutions. Resolutions are a good start. But if they aren’t turned into goals, well, we know the traditional lifespan of a resolution.
Take a look at what you achieved last year. Don’t judge whether you achieved a little or a lot. Whether you rated your accomplishments at a 1 or a 10 that is not a finishing point. That is your starting point for 2009.
Let’s say you had a pretty unproductive, or even a bad year. You didn’t play well. You struggled with grades. Perhaps you had some troubled relationships. You absolutely must remember one thing: This is only one year of your life. Now you may be saying to yourself “Coach Mike, if that’s only one year, what do I have to look forward to for the next 5, 10, or 20 years?” “I don’t want to live my life if it’s all going to be like this last year.”
Well, the good news is that your future does not have to be so bleak. In reality, it probably won’t. For a young person, this is one of the most difficult things to understand; that one year is just a very small part of your life. You are still learning about life. You’re probably going to make some mistakes. Each person is different. Things can be changed for the better.
But guess what? It’s up to YOU! If you are not satisfied with last year, with where your life is right now, you have the power to change it. But you must be willing to deal with that little word….”change.”
It has been said that a fool is a person who is very dissatisfied with the last five years of their life, but doesn’t want to change anything, and yet expects the next five years to be different.
So let’s try following these steps to have a better 2009:
1) Make a list of the POSITIVE things, the blessings in your life. These may be people in your life; it may be something you accomplished. But the first step to success is to realize that there is POSITIVE in your life. It may be a little, or it may be a lot. MAKE A LIST!
2) Now make a second list of the things you would like to change in your life. Don’t be vague. Write out specifically what you want to change. For example: “I want to get a B in Biology instead of a D.” “I want to raise my batting average by 30%.”
3) Now go down that second list and by each item you want to change, write down a specific action you will take to change that item. For example: “I want to get a B so I will study more. I will study for at least 1 hour extra per night.” “I want to raise my batting average by 30% so I will go to the batting cages twice a week.”
If you followed these steps guess what you have just done: You have set goals for 2009. Take your list out every day, and read it. And each week take a check of how much progress you are making. Not making progress? Perhaps you made an unreasonable goal. If you see you are not making progress in one area, go back and look at the original item, the action planned, and the goal. Perhaps you were not following up with the action you needed to take. Maybe you only studied one extra hour per week. Be accountable to yourself. Get your parents to help you. (Yeah, you have to trust your parents once in a while.) But you can make the changes you need to have a more successful year.
If you need someone to help you be accountable feel free to email me at coachmike@kidznsports.com. I will be happy to help you with your goal setting and accountability. But keep in mind, honesty and accountability go hand in hand. You must be honest with yourself first.
Oh yes, and for those of you who had a very successful year. You too need to not sit on your laurels. Enjoy your accomplishments. But don’t think you are finished. I’ve seen many people have one or two great years and then sat back and figured everything else would just gravitate to them. Wrong! You need to keep building on your success. You may not show as much improvement because of where you are starting. But you must keep moving forward. Again, it is only one year in your life. And remember this: If you are still awed by what you accomplished yesterday, then you must not have done anything yet today.
Best wishes for 2009.
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