While this is fine when we are either children or neophytes in an activity, as soon as we can, we must strive to become independent. Eventually we will realize that in order for our goals to be truly our own, we must set them for ourselves. In order to best form the correlation though, we must first understand the general dynamics of successful goal setting as it relates to the martial arts, or for any purpose. The most important part of goal setting is understanding that the goals we set for ourselves must be challenging yet accomplishable. This brings us to the matter of realizing that improvement takes time.
Drastic improvement takes a lot of time.
If they are to be achieved, goals must be set for the appropriate time frame. For sake of illustration, the long term goal is to be able to qualify for the National Championships of Full Contact Stick Fighting for the following year. Once the long range goal has been established, one must break it down into a few intermediate range goals. Comfortably spar 15 rounds in one training session. Establishing short term goals is primarily like writing a grocery list when preparing a meal.