Jared told his boss, Maggie, that he is going to start training for the upcoming marathon to be healthier and to have more energy for work. When Maggie asked him about his running history, Jared said, "I really have never run before and don't exercise much. I just know I need to do something." Maggie replied, "You should start slowly, maybe setting smaller, realistic exercise goals that are achievable." Maggie is helping Jared set a

The following is missing for the question to be complete:

A. Standing plan

B. Single-use plan

C. SMART goal

D. Focal point

E. Simplistic goal

   C. Smart goal

Explanation:  The goal as such is a good thing because it promotes motivation, a sense of good direction, makes the focus clearer, gives importance to what it strives for, etc. Goal is an important aspect of work, but also of everyday life. Goal-setting has become a kind of doctrine of the modern man / woman and the modern lifestyle. However, when setting goals, it should be realistic how accurate and achievable the goal is. The SMART goal, which is actually an acronym, is used for this purpose. That is, S - specific, M - measurable, A - achievable, R - realistic and T - true. All of these are important in order to achieve the goal, because if we neglect only one word and acronyms, say reality, our goal as unrealistic will probably not be achieved.

So if Jared has never run or practised almost at all, and wants to run a marathon, that goal is not realistic at least not in a short time and may not be realistic at all. Therefore, it is not achievable, and one should always choose goals that are realistic, meaning achievable, and also measurable, because that is how we manage and direct our efforts to achieve the goal. In addition, the goal should be specific and peculiar to the one who sets it, not everyone can be cosmonaut.