The rules for goal-getting have changed, with the latest research offering insights that will help anyone action an ambition
STRATEGY
1. PLAN FOR YOUR OBSTACLES
If you’ve tried manifesting your way to a goal, only to come up short, it may be time to add some problem-solving into the mix. While a sunny outlook may give you all the feels, it can make you overly comfortable – like you’ve already nabbed that corner office or saved up enough money to travel for months, says Gabriele Oettingen, professor of psychology at New York University and author of Rethinking Positive Thinking: Inside the New Science Of Motivation. Positive thinking, she says, sets off a relaxation response which, while great for heart health, may not be the best strategy for achievement.
To bring your vision to life, supplement goal-setting with some honest introspection via a process Dr Oettingen calls WOOP (wish, outcome, obstacle, plan). First, identify your wish and desired outcome. Next, pinpoint the obstacles in your way. Hurdles often appear to be external factors such as time or money, but peel back the layers and, ‘it’s usually an uncomfortable emotion, like resentment or anxiety’, Dr Oettingen says. For instance, if your objective is to upgrade time-management skills, you may initially ID your obstacle as having too many things on your plate, when the real barrier is the pressure you put on yourself to get everything done. (Check out Dr Oettingen’s website, woopmylife.org, which has a handy practice tool for this.)
Now, hatch a plan for those hurdles. Dr Oettingen recommends crafting an ‘if then’ statement to use when the roadblock presents itself. ‘If I find myself working at 11pm as I didn’t get everything finished, then I’ll remind myself that life goes on if I don’t check every box on my to-do list.’ By forming an unconscious link in your mind between your goal and the hurdles you must vault over to reach it, you’ll feel energised to do what it takes to improve performance at work, strengthen relationships, increase physical activity and more.
