Having goals are important. Goals are ideas of the future or desired results that a person or a group of people envision, plan and commit to achieve. But we must put goals in their proper perspective to make the most of them. In order to do that, certain clarifications are required between goals and related concepts.

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Don't Confuse Expectations With Goals

Expectations are regularly confused with goals. But expectations are things that we think we should have or heights we feel we should attain. Expectations are shaped and based by our past experiences, assumptions, beliefs, and societal influences. Expectations are usually not realistic and tend to generate frustration when you feel you aren’t performing up to your potential. Think about it, we have all experienced disappointment and frustration when things did not turn out as we expected.

 

On the other hand, goals demand more focus and clarity.  Goals are action-based. They stretch us and help us to achieve results. They give  structure, focus and direction. Goals keep us involved to strive for excellence. In short, goals demand more focus and clarity whereas expectations are often not realistic.

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But reaching a goal can feel overwhelming. You see where you want to be, but the path to get there looks long, uncertain, and full of obstacles. It’s easy to overthink, to feel stuck because you don’t know every single step to take. But the truth is, you don’t need to. The key to reaching any goal isn’t having a flawless, step-by-step plan from the start. It’s about taking the first step, learning from what happens, adjusting, and then taking the next step.

 

Think about baseball. No hitter walks up to the plate already knowing exactly what pitch they’re going to get, where it will be, or how they’ll hit it. They have an idea, sure, but once the ball leaves the pitcher’s hand, everything changes. If a hitter is too focused on their mechanics or getting a base hit, they’ll miss their chance. The best hitters respond, adjust,  and  trust  their  instincts. They don’t get frozen by overanalyzing. They stay in the moment and handle what’s in front of them.

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How Athletes Get Stuck

The same principle applies to achieving any goal. Many athletes get stuck because they believe they need to have the entire path mapped out before they start. They try to predict every step, plan for every possible challenge, and make sure they know exactly what to do before they even begin. But life doesn’t work that way. Just like in baseball, things change. Unexpected challenges pop up. What you thought would work might not. If you’re too attached to what you think the process should look like, you won’t notice the opportunities and lessons that are presented to you.

 

Failure is one of the best teachers, but only if you’re paying attention. Every time you take a step and it doesn’t go as planned, you get valuable information about what does and doesn’t work. But many people don’t see these lessons because they’re too busy being frustrated that their original plan isn’t working. They get discouraged, doubt themselves, or worse, quit altogether. Instead of seeing failure as a dead end, they need to see it as a signpost—pointing them in a better direction.

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Take a pitcher trying to develop a new pitch. At first, it doesn’t feel right. The grip feels awkward, the release isn’t clean, and the ball isn’t moving the way they want it to. They could decide it’s just not for them and give up. But the best pitchers don’t think that way. They throw it, watch what happens, make a small adjustment, and try again. Over time, the pitch improves - not because they had a perfect plan from the start - but because they were willing to adjust based on what they learned.

 

You Don’t Need to Know the Entire Path

Reaching a goal is the same way. You don’t need to know the entire path. You just need to take the next step, see what happens, and adjust. The process isn’t supposed to be perfect from the beginning. It’s supposed to evolve. If your original plan has setbacks, that’s ok because the setback is trying to tell you to adjust your plan and that adjustment might even take you somewhere better. But if you’re too focused on forcing your original plan to work, you’ll miss the better opportunities right in front of you.

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Think about how many people fail, not because they aren’t capable, but because they aren’t flexible. They let frustration take over. They ignore the clues that show them a better way. They get stuck thinking their process should look a certain way, and when it doesn’t, they feel lost. But the truth is, nobody who achieves anything great has a perfect roadmap from day one. They succeed because they keep moving forward, learning, and adapting.

 

The best thing you can do when working toward a goal is to trust that you don’t need to have all the answers right now. Start your plan with what you know, take a step, and learn from it. Keeping your eyes open for lessons in failure instead of getting frustrated by it. Don’t be so locked into what you think the process should be that you miss the better path that’s trying to show itself.

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Just like a great hitter doesn’t decide exactly how they’ll swing until they see the pitch, you don’t need to know every detail of your journey before you start. Stay in the moment. Take the next step. Adjust when needed. And trust that if you keep going, you’ll get where you want to be, even if the path looks different than you originally expected.

 

Be Open to Other Routes

Be open to other routes because there usually isn’t a straight line to accomplishing a goal. Think of an airplane pilot. The goal is to get everyone to their destination safely. Before every flight, pilots plot a route to their destination. They plan routes they feel are the quickest and safest path to reach their goal. But as soon as the plane takes off, things change. Jet streams shift, storms pop up, and air traffic congestion forces adjustments. If they stubbornly stuck to their pre-planned route no matter what, everyone would be in jeopardy and the flight has a large chance of leading to disaster - never reaching their goal. Instead, they adapt. They adjust their altitude, change direction, and take new paths when necessary to prioritize safety, time, and efficiency to achieve their goal. Successfully reaching goals work the same way. Plans don’t always go as expected, but adjusting to challenges keeps you moving forward. The goal remains the same—the path just changes. Flexibility leads to success. The same applies to baseball. 

 

No baseball player succeeds by sticking rigidly to a pre-determined idea of how things should go. A batter can’t decide before stepping into the box exactly how they’ll hit a home run.  They have to adjust based on the pitch they get. A pitcher can’t stick to a game plan if the hitters are crushing their fastball that day, they have to find another way to get outs. A team can’t expect to win every game by using the same strategy, because each opponent presents new challenges. The players and teams who succeed are the ones who recognize when things aren’t going as planned and have the ability to adjust to reach their goal.

 

This applies to life also. You might have an idea of how you’ll reach your goal, but the reality is, things will change. You’ll face setbacks. The plan you thought was perfect might not work. That doesn’t mean you’ve failed. It means you’re getting real-time information on how to adjust. The people who achieve great things aren’t the ones who have a flawless, pre-set path. They’re the ones who stay adaptable, make smart adjustments, and trust that they’ll get where they need to be—even if the path looks different than they originally expected.

 

Conclusion

If you want to succeed, think like a pilot in the batter’s box. Stay present. Don’t get too locked into what you think will happen; respond to what is happening. Make adjustments. Trust your ability to adapt. And most importantly, don’t be afraid to change course when needed. Just like the pilot who adjusts from their plan mid-flight or a pitcher tweaking their strategy mid-game, the key to reaching your goal isn’t necessarily sticking rigidly to a single path—it’s being willing to modify your plan to whatever challenges come your way.

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For more in-depth training on all mental skills and physical training, email Coach Helke. Free initial consult can be done in-person or virtually.