- Give you a sense of direction.
- Help you see the progress made to your long-term goal.
- Provide a sense of accomplishment and pride as you hit your short-term targets.
- Boost your motivation.
- Keep you focus on the task at hand.
- Help you optimize your practice and training sessions.
- Assist in enduring the rough times.
- Give you feedback as to whether or not you are on course to your long-term objective.
- Shanshan Feng reached one of her long-range goals, the No. 1 in the Rolex Rankings, by winning the 2017 Blue Bay LPGA Tournament, her third title of the season.
In a post-tournament interview, Feng, who also won the bronze medal at the Rio Olympics, credited her success to the small accomplishments achieved along the way.
FENG: “I do tend to set up a long-term plan or objective for myself, but I also tend to do it step by step, from short term, medium term to long term, in a sense. For example, when I was 12. I set the goal to go to the LPGA. At 18, I actually entered the LPGA and realized that goal. Down the line, of course, four years later, I also won on the LPGA. That was also one of my objectives.”
These BIG accomplishments were gained through her dedication on those short-term goals. Each small accomplishment took Feng one step closer to where she ultimately wanted to go. While long-range goals are important, you need to shoot for something in the near future and it’s those small accomplishments that lead to greater success.