Clarity Is Power and Helps Young Athletes Set High, Hard Goals That Truly Motivate
- Brainz Magazine
- May 26
- 5 min read
Tracey Hemphill founded Complete Athlete, a mental performance program designed for high-performing individuals. It focuses on helping people improve output, productivity, and results by teaching them how to access Flow States more consistently. Tracey is also a competitive swimming coach and authored the book Unlock Your X-Factor.
We often celebrate goal setting as a vital part of the athletic journey. We ask athletes what their goals are and praise them for dreaming big. But what we don’t often address is what happens next. What happens when they’re so focused on the goal that they forget to plan for life beyond it? What happens when they reach it and don’t know what to do next?
This isn’t just a philosophical dilemma; it’s a psychological and biological one.
The problem with one-dimensional goal setting
A major issue in youth sport is the narrow focus on achieving a single, often externally driven outcome: qualify for Nationals, make the team, win the championship. These are great goals, but they are not enough.
When athletes define themselves by their goals, their identity becomes tied to performance. When they win, they feel on top of the world. When they lose, they feel worthless. And even more dangerously, when they succeed, they often spiral.
I remember my first meeting with the South African Polocrosse team after being appointed their Mental Performance Coach for the World Cup. I asked, "What's the goal?" The answer came swiftly and confidently: "To win the World Cup. Like, duh?!"What they didn’t expect was my reply: "That's great, but it's not big enough."
They looked at me like I had misunderstood. But what I meant was this: if your only purpose is to win, what happens once you do? What happens after the photos, the medals, the adrenaline? The silence that follows can be deafening.
The biology behind the crash
The post-Olympic blues, or post-goal depression, is a well-documented phenomenon. Athletes build up to a high-performance moment, but afterward, they crash. Biologically, the brain has been in a heightened state of dopamine production, motivated by the anticipation of reward. Once the goal is reached, dopamine levels drop. There’s no next hit lined up, no stimulation of reward circuits. The result? A feeling of emptiness.
This chemical shift can trigger one of two responses: the athlete may seek out dopamine through unhealthy means, numbing behaviors, risk-taking, or substance use; or they may fall into stagnation, reminiscing or procrastinating, unsure how to reignite that drive.
This isn’t weakness, it’s neurobiology. But when athletes are equipped with awareness and tools, they can redirect that energy purposefully.
Purpose: The missing piece
What many in the athletic community underestimate is the role of purpose. A high, hard goal should be part of a larger vision. When goals are nested within a sense of identity and bigger-picture purpose, they hold more meaning. They are less fragile.
This is where Flow State comes in. Flow isn’t just a buzzword, it’s a biologically optimal state of consciousness where performance, creativity, and motivation peak. Flow occurs when there is a clear goal, immediate feedback, and the right balance of challenge and skill. It drives deep satisfaction.
But Flow isn’t something we trip into. It requires structure. It thrives in environments where goals are aligned with purpose, where progress is tracked, and where feedback loops are short and meaningful.
The South African Polocrosse team went on to win the 2024 World Cup, a massive and historic achievement. But what has been most inspiring is what followed. Several of the players went on to start university courses and professional degrees. One got married and is now deeply engaged in the next chapter of his life through a new sport and business ventures. Others went on to found a brand-new Polocrosse club, rooted in the values and vision they cultivated during their journey to the World Cup. That is the power of purpose. When goals are part of a broader mission, the momentum doesn’t stop at the finish line.
For parents: Talk beyond the podium
Parents play a pivotal role in this journey. Talk to your athlete about more than just times and medals. Help them shape a narrative around who they are outside of the pool or field. Celebrate growth, effort, courage, and resilience. Encourage them to explore interests outside of sport.
When sport is part of identity, not the whole of it, athletes are more resilient.
Ask open-ended questions like, “What do you love most about your sport?” or “What kind of person do you want to become through this?” These conversations open up new layers of meaning and emotional investment.
For coaches: Make goal-setting a culture
Coaches can create environments where athletes reflect on purpose consistently. Start each season not only with targets but with discussions about culture, vision, and legacy. Encourage athletes to think bigger. What kind of teammate do they want to be remembered as? What kind of impact do they want to have on the sport or their community?
This isn’t just about performance, it’s about identity-building. When athletes can answer, “Why does this matter to me?” they unlock a deeper gear.
Bring athletes into this process, don’t just dictate. When athletes have ownership of their goals and are taught how to reverse-engineer success into daily action plans, they develop agency and autonomy. This, in turn, feeds motivation and Flow.
Goal-setting is a practice, not a moment
Setting goals isn’t about scribbling dreams on a whiteboard once a year. It’s a living process. Goals need to be reviewed, adjusted, and expanded. They need context. They need to be rooted in something meaningful.
At Complete Athlete, our programs are built on these principles. We help athletes identify high, hard goals and reverse-engineer them into actionable daily behaviors. We train them in Flow State science and mental performance strategies so that their motivation isn’t just high, but sustainable.
The goal isn’t just to win. It’s to grow, to build purpose, and to prepare for what comes next.
Because real success isn’t just hitting a target. It’s knowing who you are beyond it, and being ready for the next big mountain.
Connect with me on Instagram, LinkedIn and explore the Complete Athlete Program to start your journey toward high performance.
Read more from Tracey Hemphill
Tracey Hemphill, Transformation and Performance Coach
Tracey Hemphill is a performance coach, competitive swimming coach, and mental skills mentor with over twenty years of experience in the field. As the founder of Complete Athlete, she helps athletes and high-performing individuals break through mental barriers, access Flow State, and unlock their full potential.
She is the author of Unlock Your X-Factor: The Complete Athlete Guide to Peak Performance and is now an executive partner contributor to Brainz Magazine, where she shares insights on mindset, Flow State, and performance. Tracey is passionate about and empowers athletes, coaches, parents, and high-performance individuals to cultivate resilience, confidence, and long-term success—both in sports and in life.
