By Coach Jackson Earnest
As the 2023-2024 season approaches, many debaters are considering where they are and what they want to achieve this season. These goals can vary from qualifying for NITOC to winning the national tournament. Regardless of the specific target, almost everyone agrees that setting goals is a healthy approach, and most people try them. Unfortunately, most people, including debaters, don't have the correct perspective on setting goals and don't know what a good one looks like.
First, we must understand that our goals shouldn't just be a good idea or a nice "to-do", but they should be something that we view as critical to our success. Don't just write down your goals on a Post-it note and think about them once or twice a week. Think about your goals every day when you wake up and every night when you go to sleep. Have the mindset that if you fail to achieve your goals you haven't just failed but you have set yourself back in life!
I'm sure that some of you have read this and thought, 'Jackson, isn't this too much? Isn't it unhealthy to think about something like debate too much?' While I agree that debate isn't everything and shouldn't be prioritized as much as it is by some, it is important to recognize that if you don't care enough about your goals to think about them often you probably won't achieve them. I guarantee that every person who has won NITOC had that as a goal, thought about it every day, and took massive steps to get there. If you want success you have to be obsessed with your goals!
Now that we understand how we should view our goals it's important to understand what makes a good goal. There are three components to a good goal: It's ambitious, it's achievable and it's concrete. If you ever feel unmotivated to achieve a goal there's a good chance that it's too small. If you aren't excited about the possibility of achieving your goal then you will fail to achieve it. On the other end of the spectrum, some people set over-ambitious goals and constantly fail to achieve them. This leaves many people feeling discouraged and less likely to set ambitious goals in the future. Sometimes people set goals but they aren't concrete and they have no idea what it looks like to achieve their goals. Here are some examples of bad goals that fail one of these three things.
Bad Goal: "I will be the best speaker in every round."
This goal is poor because it isn't concrete. It has no objective metric by which you can measure whether you achieved your goal or not. It's all based on your subjective feeling about how you performed.
Better Goal: "I will be the 1st ranked speaker on the ballot in every round."
This goal is better because it has a concrete standard by which you have achieved your goal or not.
Bad Goal: "I will have fun this year."
Having fun is important but it shouldn't be one of your goals for this year. First, because it's not concrete. Second, because it's not ambitious at all.
Better Goal: "I will make 10 new friends this year."
This goal contributes to having more fun but is also concrete, pushing you to go out of your way to talk to people.
Bad Goal: "I will win five tournaments"
This goal is potentially good depending on who you are and how much experience you have. But if you are a novice who is only going to six tournaments this goal isn't appropriate because it is unrealistic.
Better Goal: "I will qualify for NITOC."
This goal is much better for someone newer because it's ambitious but it also is very achievable. Granted, if you have qualified for NITOC four years in a row this goal isn't good because it doesn't significantly push. A major aspect of balancing ambitious with unrealistic goals depends on who you are. It's important to be honest with yourself and consider what is hard but realistic to achieve.
Setting goals is something that everyone should be thinking about as the new season starts. I hope this post has helped give you a better mindset on setting goals. I wish you all the best in accomplishing your goals this year!