“… it’s critical to always keep your goal in your mind, so when it does get hard, you understand you’re doing it for a purpose … I’ve set some of the loftiest goals the sports world will see.”
Swimmer Michael Phelps, most successful Olympic athlete ever.
The six focus circles, introduced by the German professor and sports psychologist Eberspächer, are originally meant to indicate problems about focus and attention. But, these circles are also framework to specify different types of goals and sort them hierarchically. This implicates that goals do not only motivate; they can also distract, which is especially undesirable when it really comes down to it. And this does not only relate to sports. It can also be a model in companies where employees perform tasks. Let’s lhave look at the model.
In the outer circle #6, the overarching outcome goal, a dream or wish is determined. That is where the engine, or the source of inspiration (“purpose”) is located. Employees who find themselves in this circle ask themselves questions such as: What do I want? Who do I want to be? What am I doing it all for?
In circle #5 the central question is: Why do I want this? You wonder what the dreamed outcome will bring you: money, self-confidence, prestige, self-esteem, meaning? You can also be driven by expected outcomes in failure. For example, you don’t want to feel like you belong, you lose face, your ego is hurt, or loved others disapprove of your choices or behavior.
Circle #4 focuses on the performance goal. Which standard must I at least meet in order to achieve the desired outcome? What targets do I need to achieve?
Circle #3 shows the process goals. How will you achieve the intended standard? These goals concern the training and preparation and the performance itself.
The process goals in circle #2 focus on the circumstances. You think about how to deal as effectively as possible with environmental factors that could frustrate the performance of the task.
Effectively going through these circles eventually leads to focused execution of the tasks in circle #1. Employees in circle #1 are focused and concentrated on their task, their perceptions are clear and sharp, they make decisions and carry them out. In short, they perform to the best of their ability.
The strength and impact of distractions are categorized in reverse order to the targets. Eberspächer’s assumption is that the further away the employee is from the center, it becomes increasingly difficult to return to circle #1, that is, to concentrate on performing the task.
Employees who are distracted by external circumstances are in circle #2.
Employees in circle #3 are distracted by their thoughts about the task performance or the course of events during the task. More generally, in the employee’s mind in circle #3 there is a negative balance between “how it is” and “how it should be”.
Employees get even further from task performance when they are distracted by thoughts about success or failure, whether they will meet their performance goal. They ended up in circle #4. If they then also start dealing with the consequences, they have wandered further into circle #5.
Furthest from an effective task performance are the employees who have ended up in circle #6. They ask themselves questions such as: What am I doing here? After all, the answer is what you dream of. If that is in jeopardy, then the foundation of your desire to perform falls away; you quit.
During (mental) training and evaluations, the attention circles can be used to provide insight into where employees were with their thoughts at a certain moment. Naturally, attention must then be paid to the question of how you can prevent this from happening next time. However, because distractions are inevitable, it is more realistic to focus on how to return to circle #1 as quickly as possible at the moment of distraction.
You can use this model as a trainer / mentor during reflection of the outcome of the performance.
Inspired on: Doelen, Focus en Cirkels – SportScience.blog – Nico W. Van Yperen – Hoogleraar Sport Psychologie.
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