WEBVTT - Set goals within a range

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

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<v Speaker 1>Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's tip is to set goals within a target range

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<v Speaker 1>instead of a specific target number. This helps us aim

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<v Speaker 1>high and have opportunities to feel satisfaction and accomplishment even

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<v Speaker 1>when life doesn't go entirely as planned. I'm sure that

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<v Speaker 1>anyone who listens to a productivity podcast knows that we're

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<v Speaker 1>supposed to set goals that are specific and measurable. Exercise

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<v Speaker 1>four times per week is more motivating then exercise more.

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<v Speaker 1>We're also better able to assess whether we have achieved

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<v Speaker 1>goals when they are specific and measurable. But specific and

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<v Speaker 1>measurable goals don't have to include a single target number. Instead,

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<v Speaker 1>they can include a target range. For instance, our exercise

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<v Speaker 1>goal becomes exercise three or four times per week. We

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<v Speaker 1>might aim to right between five hundred and a thousand

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<v Speaker 1>words per day in a novel. A salesperson might aim

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<v Speaker 1>to call eight to twelve prospects per day. A few

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<v Speaker 1>good things happen when we have goals like this that

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<v Speaker 1>have a target range rather than a single target number. First,

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<v Speaker 1>we can set a really challenging upper end for the goal,

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<v Speaker 1>on the outer edge of what we can sustainably do.

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<v Speaker 1>We can envision an upper limit that's achievable when things

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<v Speaker 1>are going really well. Having that high upper limit can

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<v Speaker 1>motivate us to do more than we otherwise would. As

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<v Speaker 1>for the lower limit, well, this reflects what's achievable with

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<v Speaker 1>life being what it is, a world in which stuff

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<v Speaker 1>goes wrong. The lower limits still means steady progress. No

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<v Speaker 1>world records, but an acceptable outcome. If you're goal is

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<v Speaker 1>to run three to five miles every Wednesday, and you

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<v Speaker 1>ran three point one miles, well you've attained your goal. Now.

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<v Speaker 1>You might wonder whether goals with a range lead people

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<v Speaker 1>to stop pushing themselves once they've passed the lower limit

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<v Speaker 1>of the range. Good question, But the Harvard Business Reviews

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<v Speaker 1>cites research on goal setting regarding weight loss that found

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<v Speaker 1>that what they call high low goals lead to more

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<v Speaker 1>sustainability without a reduced amount of weight loss. So no

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<v Speaker 1>worries that the lower limit to the target range will

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<v Speaker 1>end up being all you accomplish. Instead, having a lower

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<v Speaker 1>limit allows us to keep going on bad days without

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<v Speaker 1>feeling like failures. Then we can aim high when the

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<v Speaker 1>stars align a few things in life are exact and

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<v Speaker 1>we can't predict our inner or outer circumstances. We can

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<v Speaker 1>predict that some days will be better than others. So

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<v Speaker 1>rather than setting goals with a single precise target, instead

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<v Speaker 1>try sitting goals with a range. You'll be more likely

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<v Speaker 1>to achieve them. In the meantime, This is Laura. Thanks

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<v Speaker 1>for listening, and here's to making the most of our time.

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<v Speaker 1>Hey everybody, I'd love to hear from you. You can

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<v Speaker 1>so much, I look forward to staying in touch. Before

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