Setting Goals
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00:00Moby! Your running group is here! Huh. Hey, did you hear me? I know your favorite show
00:17is on, but you can't just ditch your friends!
00:23Dear Tim and Moby, I spend most of my time after school playing video games and talking
00:28to people online, even when I have tons of stuff to do. How can I get more done? From
00:34Marco. Thanks for writing, Marco! Playing games and watching TV are fun, but they can
00:40keep you from getting stuff done. You have to accomplish all kinds of tasks just to get
00:47through a day. Homework and chores, or even brushing your teeth and showering. Getting
00:52things done also makes you feel good about yourself. That's why you signed up to run
00:56that race, right Moby? Yeah, it's cool to imagine that you could run three whole kilometers.
01:04That's a goal, some objective you'd like to reach. Setting a meaningful goal ups your
01:09motivation and helps you get results. Plus, makes you feel happier, less stressed, and
01:13more satisfied with your life. But setting a goal is just the first step. You have to
01:19come up with a plan for how to achieve it. Don't give up so easily. You made a great
01:26first step by signing up for that race. It's a nice, specific goal. You're way more likely
01:33to get something done when it's clearly defined. Start running isn't very specific. How will
01:39you know when you've reached that goal? After you've run once? Three times? For a month?
01:45Run the Robot 3K is much more specific. It's a single event, with a deadline, June 21st.
01:55When goals have due dates, it's much easier to plan for achieving them. Good idea. Writing
02:04your goal down is a great motivator. It feels more real when you see it spelled out, and
02:09it'll serve as a reminder. We can also use this space to set down your action plan. Hmm,
02:16that's pretty ambitious to start running three kilometers every day. You want your goal to
02:20push you out of your comfort zone. But if it's too hard, you might give up. Breaking
02:28your goal down into manageable chunks will make it more doable. First, let's check in
02:33where you are now. How much running have you done lately? Okay, none. That's okay.
02:42Let's start with something we know you can do, like half a kilometer. It's not much,
02:47but as you get better, you can keep adding more distance. Now we just need to figure
02:52out how often you should train. Well, every day might be too much of a commitment. Think
02:59about your daily schedule. Can you set aside time to run every day, seven days a week? Okay,
03:07let's say every other day, starting today. Each week, we'll bump your distance up by half a
03:12kilometer. By the time June 21st comes around, three kilometers will be a snap. See? We've
03:18broken up your long-term goal into a bunch of short-term mini-goals. Each mini-goal is specific
03:24and measurable, so you know you're making progress. And the act of marking off each of
03:29those calendar days is like a little reward. Yep, you should celebrate as you get to each
03:36mini-goal. Rewards keep you motivated, and sharing them with friends is one of the benefits of
03:42forming a goal group. Your group can help you avoid temptations. And working together toward
03:53a goal is just more fun. It's like your own personal support group. Yeah, no goal-setting
04:01technique is worth it if it's too complicated. Fortunately, you can find all kinds of handy
04:05memory aids online. One of my favorites is called SMART. It stands for Specific, Measurable,
04:13Attainable, Realistic or Relevant, and Time-bound. Just use those words to guide your strategy. So,
04:22are you guys ready to stop planning and start running? All right, let's do it!
04:29You guys crushed that run! Now that you've met your goal, you can go ahead and set a new one.
04:54It's fun to keep challenging yourself. How about a 5k race next month? Or a half-marathon? Or...
05:02Guys?