Goal Achievement And Ski Jumping Style Marks!

"goal achievement" "the great gordino"I’ve been writing recently about New Year Resolutions, and in those articles I’ve expanded on why I’m not a fan of them, that they have built in dangers on a goal achievement front. In this article I’m carrying on the winter theme for another goal achievement tip…

There is an annual event over the New Year period in the sport of ski jumping called the 4 Hills Tournament, which takes place at, er, 4 different hills!

I remember watching it when I was much younger (the mainstream coverage of it here in the UK has disappeared), and this year I found it again via a sports channel.

Here in the UK, when you say ‘ski jumping’ to most people, they will reply ‘Eddie The Eagle’. Now, Edwards is not the focus of this article, but it’s always worth giving a nod to his efforts, his willingness to get stuck in and have a go at something he wanted.

Will I write about Eddie in another article? Now that I think of it, yes, but let me get back to the point I saw while watching this year’s 4 Hills event…

Ski jumping used to be about who jumped the furthest. The development in recent years has been to add or subtract from the distance jumped according to the wind prevailing at the time of the jump. There was an earlier add on to the basic distance score though, one which had a huge impact at the time, and still does today:

Style marks.

The style of the jumper through the air, and the style of the landing are marked, and those marks are computed along with the distance and wind factors to give a score.

Now, something the commentators mentioned during the coverage, and something even I noticed, is something that is a problem in many winter sports which have style marks involved.

It’s a problem in ski jumping, it’s a problem in ice skating. It’s a problem in freestyle mogul, and it’s a problem in snowboarding.

The problem is that the established top names seem to have an assumed high score starting point, and *may* be marked down for any mistakes, while newcomers seem to have an assumed lower score starting point, meaning that apparently better performances are marked less than the more established names.

Sometimes it causes controversy, but it seems to be accepted as the norm – the newcomers understand ‘that’s the way it is’, and their time will come to have that assumed high starting point.

It’s this assumption of success which is the point I want to make about your goal achievement.

Yes, *your* goal achievement. Not mine, not anybody else’s, but yours!

Others may well give you an assumed low success rate, and you may find that at the beginning there is little you can do about that except know that when you make progress you might change those opinions.

What about your own assumption of your success rate though, how do you view yourself when it comes to your goal? Do you view yourself at the successful end, with any mistakes being simply absorbed, the achievement of the goal in the end being expected?

Or, do you view yourself at the assumed low end of success, where setbacks, mistakes and hurdles are viewed as the norm, achievement being viewed with surprise?

Can you see the difference in the two? Belief is a key element of goal achievement – belief in the goal coming true, and belief in your worthiness of that goal.

You goal may or may not be to succeed in the world of ski jumping(!), but whatever it is, take on board the point about style marks, and make sure your assumptions about your level of success are set correctly.

I’d love to hear what you think!
‘Til Next Time,
Health & Happiness,
Gordon
P.S. If you enjoy my articles, you might like to take a look at my motivational book ‘Transform Your Life in 21 Days!’ at the rock bottom kindle pricing!
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Do leave a comment!

Leave a Reply to Bonnie Gean X

8 Comments

  • Enjoyed this post. Like yourself, I feel our goals should be bold, even brazen, with a clear vision of achievement through our step by step actions. A favorite quote, “Be bold and mighty forces will come to you”. Expect the best or yourself and your results:)

    • Thanks Kathleen,
      You hit the nail on the head when you talk about expectation of yourself and results – even if you don’t necessarily have the facts to back it up (yet)!
      Cheers,
      Gordon

  • I love this! As Theodore Roosevelt once said, “Believe you can and you’re halfway there.”
    Belief IS the key element of goal achievement and if you can visualize a successful end result, you can get there. Thanks for the great post!

    • Thanks Melissa,
      I hadn’t heard the Roosevelt quote – that’s a good’un! Sometimes using the word ‘expectation’ can get your mind to come at it from another angle (of course in ski jumping, the angle is usually ‘down!’)
      Cheers,
      Gordon

  • Very well said!

    I generally don’t over-think the process. I set a goal and make my way out to achieve it. If I fall short, I forgive myself and try it in a different fashion.

    The point being, there is more than one way to skin a cat! 🙂

    • Hi Bonnie,
      I like your idea of not over thinking the process. It’s something I’ve been guilty of many times, but I will press on with that sense of expectation to succeed I write about!
      Cheers,
      Gordon

  • Gordon!
    This is so thought-provoking. I tend to be really tough on myself and my own progress and VERY compassionate when it comes to the goals of the women with whom I work. Hmmmm, definitely something to work on.
    Thanks for the post!

    • Oh Kerry,
      Blimey I know full well how easy it is to ignore advice I give to others! Self compassion back to the fore for us both!
      Cheers,
      Gordon