Got Goals? This 4-Step Method May Help You Reach Them

Quick Win

We all have goals and aspirations. Instead of getting stuck in dreamland, try the WOOP method: ​C​onsider your internal obstacles — and make a plan to overcome them.

Try This Today

• W: Wish. Pick a goal that is challenging but achievable in a set period, say, the next week or month. Reading all the great books of history would be too big a task, but reading Little Women or Dune this month might be just right. Running a 10K in a month may be a stretch, while starting a walking or walk/run routine is doable.
• O: Outcome. Now’s the time to dream. Close your eyes and imagine getting your wish. Go beyond material or social gains and think about how reaching your goal will make you feel.
• O: Obstacle. Next, do a contrasting thought exercise: ​T​hink about the biggest internal obstacle to starting or achieving your goal. If the answer seems easy at first — e.g., I’m busy — dig deeper. What are you doing when you could be finishing that task? Are you gaining something by avoiding action? Does your inner critic start berating you when you think seriously about your goal?
• P: Plan. Plan how you will overcome that obstacle. Imagine what will happen the next time you encounter it. Come up with one action or thought you can use when the obstacle arises.

Why

We all have wishes and goals we have a hard time reaching. Why can’t you get into a strength-training habit? Or clear out that cluttered garage? Visualizing a positive outcome is a good start — but it’s only a start. Psychologist and researcher Gabriele Oettingen at New York University developed the WOOP technique, based on research involving what she termed “mental contrasting”​ ​—​ ​essentially, anticipating internal obstacles to achieving goals and planning for them. Compared with those who simply fantasized about losing weight, those who did a mental contrasting exercise improved their diabetes self-management. The study of 64 adults with type 2 diabetes was reported in Psychology & Health in 2012. In a test of WOOP among 183 stroke ​survivors average​ ​age 57​, those who used WOOP did more physical activity and lost more weight than those who just received information, in a study reported in 2017 in Rehabilitation Psychology.