Anatomy of a goal 
 

When setting yourself a goal, split it up in pieces to make it more achievable.
 

Everyone who knows me knows I love motivating people... I hope this way of thinking helps you set goals ! 

Start off by thinking of a goal as S.M.A.R.T. 

S = Specific 
M = Measurable
A = Attainable
R = Relevant 
T = Time-bound

Specific : Your goals must be specific, keeping them unclear and airy-fairy, will stop you from having a clear direction to go. And you then loose sight of what you want to achieve. 

Measurable : Make sure you can compare and measure how far you have come every step of the way. However, do not use dressage test-scores to assume you are or are not getting better ! They can be subjective, and when working on something new with your trainer at times points may go down.

Attainable : if you set yourself unrealistic high goals, that are far beyond you reach (at this time or at any time) you will end up demoralised… Discuss the goal you are setting with your trainer, and ask if it is attainable, or perhaps you need to first choose an in between goal before reaching up high. 

Relevant : Your goal must be relevant to what you wish to accomplish. Don’t side step and add things to your road to your goal if they are not something you need to pass to get there… Like in Monopoly … Go straight to GO, do not go through any other way but the shortest to the GO 

Time-bound : It is essential to ad a time-frame to goals, because they help uphold your motivation, and add a sense of time-urgency that will push you on … However !!! Be aware, this time goal should NEVER be used to force a result… 
A timeline helps you plan ahead, think of the steps you have to take, so how far you have come and how far you have to go … 



Hope this helps everyone… So riders be SMART when setting goals. Good luck !