by JR Cook - 8 years ago     show comments

Season 2 is fast approaching and players from around the Nexus are convinced that this will be the season when they finally claim their rightful place in the hierarchy of Ranked Play. Everyone is an optimist when it comes to what they think they can accomplish, but they often fail to plot out what steps they need to take to turn their nebulous hopes and dreams into reality. Whether you are a weekend warrior or a try hard pushing for Master, your results will improve if you take the time to set defined goals. This is how you turn what you hope to accomplish into what you plan to accomplish.

There are countless books and articles out there that go in depth into goal setting. That is not what this article is about. If you would like to learn more about goal setting, by all means, seek out those other resources, but for the purposes of this article we are going to focus on the basics and how to apply that to Heroes of the Storm.

Not all goals are created equal. While some people neglect to set goals in the first place, others set goals that are poorly defined and therefor ineffective. These goals might be too vague, or lack any definitive way to measure success. We want to focus not just on setting goals, but on making sure that these goals are structured properly. When used correctly, goals should provide long term vision and short term motivation.

The basic principles of goal setting are often summed up with the acronym SMART. This stand for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound. Understanding these criteria will help you learn how to set more effective and more actionable goals. Let’s define these categories and see how we can use them when setting goals for Season 2.

Specific

One of the biggest mistakes that people make when setting goals is that they set goals that are too vague or too general. These goals are troublesome because they don’t provide enough direction to work towards. An example might be something like “I’m going to get better at tanking”. What does getting better mean? Does this mean getting better with all tanks or just certain ones? Rather than setting such a nebulous goal, instead narrow your focus to something more specific. A better example would be “I will improve my win rate with Muradin”.

Measurable

Having a specific goal is good, but it also needs to include a way to measure success. Saying that we are going to improve our Muradin win rate isn’t enough. We need to define what improving means. Something like “I will improve my Muradin win rate to 55%” accomplishes this. This gives us specific direction and a clear expectation for what success is. Make sure your goals include a mechanism for determining when they have been achieved, that way you know when to celebrate.

Attainable

Another common pitfall that people fall into is setting goals that aren’t realistic. It is all well and good to say that your goal is to reach Diamond 1, but if you are currently Bronze 4 then that probably isn’t an attainable goal for the season. The same could be true with our Muradin example. If you currently have a 20% win rate over 200 games then you probably want to set the bar a little lower than 55%. Once you have your specific, measurable goal consider what it is going to take to accomplish it. If that doesn’t seem realistic, then adjust your expectation accordingly. You want your goals to be challenging, but achievable.

Relevant

One of the most important parts of goal setting is knowing what you hope to accomplish. Having a big picture plan will not only help you set better goals, but it will also help you prioritize those goals. You probably shouldn’t go into the season with 20 different goals. Rather than have a massive list of goals, streamline your goals so that they are relevant to your big picture plan. I am certainly not an expert in goal setting, but I can’t see going into a season with more than five goals. Three might even be plenty. You can always add new goals as the season progresses. In most cases you are going to have one over arcing goal, and a few smaller goals that are geared towards helping you achieve that larger goal.

Time-bound

The final property of a well defined goal is a deadline. Fortunately, since we are talking about a season of Ranked Play there is already a deadline built in. However, not all of your goals have to be season long. You might have smaller goals such as playing a certain number of Ranked Games each week or each month. Regardless, make sure that your goals have a defined deadline in order to create a sense of urgency for completion.

Now that you have a better idea for how to structure your goals, it is time to start thinking about what it is you would like accomplish this season and what steps you need to take to accomplish those things. It is often better to focus more on performance goals than outcome goals. That means focus more on what you need to do to reach your destination than the destination itself.

For example, like most people I would like to improve my Rank, but that is not currently one of my goals. Instead my goals are things such as play 60 Ranked games before the end of the season and analyse at least two of my own replays each week. It is my expectation that accomplishing goals such as these will lead to an improvement in my Rank, but my success or failure with these goals is not dependent upon it.

Last but not least, once you set your goals be sure to write them down. You might even consider sharing them with a friend. This extra layer of accountability will increase your chances of success.

Good luck and good goal setting!