What is a potential challenge of outcome goals?

Outcome goals focus on the end result of an individual's performance, such as winning a competition or achieving a specific rank. While these goals can be motivating, one of their potential challenges lies in the fact that they can be difficult to measure up to consistently. This difficulty arises because outcome goals often depend on external factors beyond an individual’s control, such as the performance of opponents or environmental conditions. Consequently, when individuals set these goals and fail to achieve them, this can lead to feelings of frustration or discouragement.

By focusing on end results alone, athletes might overlook the importance of process goals, which emphasize improvement in technique and personal development. Process goals are typically within a person's control and can serve as stepping stones to ultimately achieving the desired outcome, mitigating some of the drawbacks associated with solely focusing on outcome goals. Therefore, option C highlights a significant challenge in the reliance on outcome goals due to their unpredictable nature in measuring success.