Athletic Goals

Athletic goals (any goal that requires a level of physiological and movement capability to achieve them) can be defined in three broad categories:

Professional - The defining characteristic of a professional goal is that pursuing it can be defined as ‘work’ and success may shape one's ability to meet core life needs such as providing shelter and food. Professional goals often have the same qualities as goals we will define as scarce, but not exclusively. Winning a football Premier League title can be defined as a professional goal as it is only open to players who are employees of their clubs. Professional goals are important to define as motivating factors for professionals can vary from the amateur.

Scarce - Scarce goals are outcomes that only a limited (as low as one) can attain at any given time but multiple people may be pursuing simultaneously. An Olympic gold medal or Wimbledon title are well understood scarce athletic goals but any form of race or organised competition that defines placings can be categorised as scarce.

Abundant - An abundant goal has little to no limitations on the number of people who can achieve it if they have the opportunity and capability to do so. Running a sub- 4 hour marathon is a common abundant athletic goal.

Across these three types of goal, professional and scarce goals will often include rivalries, but an abundant goal need not. Equally a person can pursue a scarce (outcome) and abundant (process) goal simultaneously. The lack of a rivalry should not diminish the judgement of effort required to achieve abundant goals or the competitive spirit. Running a sub-4 minute mile, sub 2 hour marathon or climbing Everest are all abundant goals which require no rivalry (or professional status) but significant levels of striving and likely sit beyond the capabilities of many. Equally, for a person who has no history of sporting or athletic engagement, to run a 30 minute 5km Parkrun takes significant personal growth for them. The ability to push beyond current capability limitations in pursuit of a goal should be badged as personal high performance and it is competing every day that gets you there.  Because high performance is internally anchored it is an abundant quality accessible to all and the field of athletic high performance has special qualities that speak directly to what it is to be a high performing human.