So, you’re striving for perfectionism?

Perfectionism in sport is the ultimate goal, right? Your coach is telling you that to be the best, you need to be hitting perfect sequences, your parents are telling you your dismount needs to be perfect, your teammates are telling you your penalty placement needs to be perfect, your partner…well, you get the idea!

But what if I told you that your quest to be perfect could actually be hindering your progress as an athlete? Let me tell you why.

In order to improve in sport, we must first set goals. I recommend using methods such as

SMART goal setting to set realistic, achievable, and relevant goals. Often, within goal setting, in order to keep my clients motivated, we develop a set of ‘building block’ goals. These are short and med

ium-term goals which are the building blocks to achieving a long-term goal.

In terms of perfectionism, yes, there are short term goals which can be set to help you improve within your sport. However, if your long-term goal is ‘perfectionism’, does this fit in with the SMART technique? Is it achievable? Is it realistic? What time-limit do you give yourself? I want to let you in on a little secret – you will NEVER reach a goal of perfection, because every time you think you are there, you will want to improve, so you are no longer at a point of perfection and need to re-start your mission. If you cannot reach this goal, you may become demotivated, you might fall out of love with your sport and as a result, you could drop out of the sport entirely.

I know what you’re thinking, how can I help you if I’m telling you you’ll never reach perfection? In order to be perfect, you need to get the perfect score/result 100% of the time, with the perfect execution 100% of the time. This can only happen if you have the perfect conditions, the perfect opponents, and the perfect mindset 100% of the time. Many of these components are out of your control as an athlete, for example the conditions (weather, spectators, track/pitch etc.) What you do have control over are your mindset, focus, emotions and with the help of a sport psychology consultant, you can train your mental skills to achieve your individual optimum results. #ControlTheControllables and let’s unlock your potential!