Let's face it, New Year's resolutions are hard to keep. Especially for athletes with crazy schedules and eye-watering workouts, how can one person have this much motivation? Here are some tips on how to make and keep your goals for a successful 2018 season.

Setting goals are meant to keep you focused, provide motivation, and overcome procrastination. There are two kinds of goals described in this blog. They are behavioral goals and outcome goals. Outcome goals are the traditional performance goals we think about during New Year's. For example, “I want to average more rebounds per basketball game this season.” This is a great goal but to achieve it; you need to make it a behavioral goal. A behavioral goal is a particular task you need to practice multiple times in order make achieving your outcome goal more likely. An example of a behavioral goal is practicing your rebounding with two teammates for 30 minutes after each training session. After doing this consistently, you are more prepared to achieve the outcome goal of averaging more rebounds per game. Remember, it is important to set attainable goals but resist the urge to set goals that are too easy.

Once you have established your goals, write them down and post them on your wall, bathroom mirror, locker or any other places you look at daily. According to a study done by Gail Matthews at Dominican University, those who wrote down their goals accomplished significantly more than those who did not write down their goals. To help yourself feel more accountable to your goal, take a step further and tell a friend about your New Year's Resolution. Take these simple steps, and your goal will become more genuine:

Pledge to keep a positive attitude in your sport:

In sports, a positive mental state is essential to success. You have an excellent opportunity to reach your full potential and represent your school in a positive way. Don't think, “I have to go to practice today.” Instead, think “I am excited to go to practice today.” You should look at your goals as a challenge, not an obstacle, this will make practice easier and will keep you closer to achieving your athletic dreams.

Come to practice with a goal in mind:

Practicing like a champion, helps you win like a champion. Before you arrive at practice, try to play the mind game of practicing as if you were in a game, match, or meet. Do your best every day, one day at a time. Do not think about tomorrow's practice or next week's game. Only think about today's workout, one rep/set at a time. If you give 100% to your sport every day, you will receive that same 100% on game day.

Do something little that will help you in the long run:

This is an easy behavioral goal because it is something that can take around 5 minutes but can improve your season drastically. For example, set a reminder to stretch or foam roll after every practice. Decide to do ten pull-ups on your own after your weight training. To maintain a healthy diet, make the behavioral goal of keeping at least one vegetable on your plate per meal.

Be a good teammate:

Contribute to the team further simply by being a good teammate. If someone scores after a great play, congratulate them. When you see a teammate struggling through the workout or any other obstacle in their life, encourage or try to help them. This attitude goes a long way with your team and makes you feel pretty good yourself. If done consistently, this will even start to change the culture of the team in a positive way. When everyone knows their efforts are valued, they produce more great work.

Learn ways to decrease your stress level:

Even though the student-athlete lifestyle is very demanding, take time for yourself. Give yourself at least 30 minutes of “me time” per day. It can be reading a book, watching a TV show, crafting or just hanging with friends. Another helpful tip to decrease stress is to isolate each task or responsibility you have in your day. When you are at practice, focus on being the best athlete you can be. When you are in the classroom or studying for a test, be the best student you can be.

Ultimately, remember it is very unlikely for one person to achieve all of their goals. Instead, try to focus on one or two goals at a time. Even though it seems minuscule, goal setting is a major part of success and with the right attitude can improve your sport's season in significant ways.

* Originally published on January 2, 2018, by Bryan Sosoo