1.2 setting goals

lecture

TEACHER: Wonderful work, students. We're gradually working through this lesson together, and I'm really proud of you. Remember, we just looked at the how-- or how smart goals can be used in creating, and how they can be very effective in creating your attainable goals. Let's take a look at this student right here. 00:00:18 So this student has actually set a number of smart goals that she's written down. But right now, she's a little worried about, how do I stay motivated to attain those goals? Have you ever felt that way? That's what we're to talk about next as we continue to answer this lesson question-- how do smart goals help you achieve academic success? 00:00:39 Let's keep going on. You're doing great. Section 2 00:00:00 TEACHER: What's really critical after you set your goals is to make sure you gain motivation to achieve them. Motivation itself, well, that's the reason to do something, to accomplish your goal. And there are actually three main components of motivation. The first is initiation or, as this student needs to do, 00:00:22 of just starting your goal. If you say you're going to read three chapters in a book, well, open that book up and start reading it. In addition, the second one is effort. How much effort are you going to be putting into achieving that goal? Are you going to be able to read for 20 minutes, a half an hour, an hour an evening? 00:00:42 You need to make sure you put in the effort. And the third and final one is the intensity. And what I mean by this is-- let's use the book example again. We've probably all seen those people who look like they're reading. You know, they're just-- mm, just flipping the pages. They may be putting in some effort. 00:01:03 But there really is no intensity right there. You need to make sure that you have all three of these working together to achieve your goals and to stay motivated. But when we're talking about motivation, there are actually two things-- or two types of motivation that you need to be aware of and basically ask the question of yourself of, what 00:01:26 motivates me to do something? Let's look at the first one of intrinsic motivation, which is within yourself. It is internally gratifying and personally rewarding for you to achieve this goal. Let's look at this example right here. "I organize my school assignments because I feel more productive when my work is in order." 00:01:51 Notice that that's the key thing is that "I feel." It's not that I'm getting a reward. It's not that the teacher is saying, hey, great job. They may be doing that. But that's not the reason why this student is organizing their assignments. That is much different from the second part of extrinsic motivation, which is outside yourself. 00:02:12 And those rewards, they come from others. And you want to avoid a negative outcome. You want to make sure you have a positive outcome. Here's an example. "I organize my assignments because I get in trouble with the teacher when my work is messy." Notice here, he's saying or she's saying the problem is that I'm going to get in trouble. 00:02:36 Externally, the teacher, someone other than yourself is going to get you in trouble. So those are the two types of motivation. And the key thing for you is, what type, intrinsic or extrinsic, motivates you? Section 4 00:00:00 TEACHER: So why do you care? Why is motivation important? Well, as this picture shows, it's actually a bridge to your success because motivation helps you reach your goals. Where here, let's say, if you were right here, well, here's your goal. 00:00:17 Lofty goals. You're going to get an A in this, you're going to win this tournament, or so on, and so forth. But there's your success over here. And unless you stay motivated, you will then stay right here, where you just have a bunch of really great goals. 00:00:32 But this motivation actually will start pushing you across so that you can achieve success. But the next follow-on question that you should be asking is, well, how do I keep this going? How do I build on this motivation? How do I stay motivated? Well, one great thing that I like to do is to make sure you revisit your goals are regularly. 00:00:56 It feels really good when I write a goal and say, hey, I'm going to read this many chapters in this book, or I'm going to go to the gym and work out for this long. And then I look at my work out calendar and I flip it open, I say, wow! Two weeks ago, I couldn't lift this, but now I'm able to lift this. It feels really good when I revisit my goals. 00:01:18 You can also update your goal as needed. Let's say in school you say you want to get, let's say, an 85 on your next test. But you actually get a 90 on your test. Well, you may need to revisit that goal, because you did awesome on your actual test. So maybe next time, instead of saying, I'll get an 89, you know what? 00:01:38 Maybe you should set that goal for a 95 and see if you can attain it. Also, share your goal with someone you trust. You can hold each other accountable. You can say, hey, I'm trying to get a really good grade on this math test, and I know you want to get a good grade, too. So let's work together. 00:01:57 Let's see how we can team up so that both of us can do well on this test. And finally, celebrate your small successes. That's really important. Let's say if there's a course that you really, really struggle with, or something you find so boring. And so you say to yourself, all right, I really don't like this book. 00:02:16 But you know what? I'm going to read one page. Not a big goal, but if you do it, you get to that page, celebrate yourself. Say, you know what? Awesome. I read a page. Maybe take a quick break. 00:02:27 Come back to it. Set another goal. Read another page. That's totally fine. But celebrate those small successes. Because all of these together will help you stay motivated, and help you pursue your goals, which will bridge your way to success.