A simple tool that will help you achieve your career goals
09 September 2021
When it comes to goal setting for career, many people wait until the New Year. Unfortunately, the odds are against them though with research showing that approximately 80% of New Year’s goals fail.
There are many reasons for this, including the pressure and hype that’s associated with goal setting for the New Year, as well as coming out of an extended holiday – which tends to make the beginning of the year fairly busy and hectic.
But the main reason most New Year’s goals or resolutions fail is because we have a tendency to set goals that are focused on behavior change, using the key tactic of willpower alone.
Psychologists have shown us that willpower alone is a highly unreliable tactic for sustained behavior change.
Willpower is all about positive thinking. “Come on, I can do this, [insert said goal] is enjoyable, it's good for me, and it makes me smarter.” And then we expect our behavior to magically change.
While positive thinking and visioning are indeed important so you are clear on what you want and what you're working towards, but done by themselves won’t get you to your desired outcomes.
What clinical, field, and empirical data point to is that sustained behavior change (which results in positive outcomes) is most successful only when paired with mental contrasting, which ensures you're solving for the right thing and your tactics are aligned.
“Understanding the obstacle is the way to wish fulfillment.”
The Tool
Professor of Psychology at New York University and University of Hamburg, psychologist and author Gabrielle Oettingen developed a tool that combines this formula into an easy to remember formula called WOOP.
1) WISH: Surface your desired [feasible] wish (or goal) by clarifying what you are working towards and why.
2) OUTCOME: Envision the desired outcome of your goal and live into what this looks and feels like.
3) OBSTACLE: Identify what the biggest obstacle or challenge is that’s blocking you from your desired outcome. This ensures you’re solving for the “right” thing.
4) PLAN: Develop a strategy plan to overcome the barrier (rather than the wish itself).
And while this is a seemingly simple formula, it’s quite sophisticated and well-studied.
Scientists have tested this in the lab and field, and the data shows that when people used this framework, they significantly improved their goal attainment.
“The solution isn’t to do away with dreaming and positive thinking. Rather, it’s making the most of our fantasies by brushing them up against the very thing most of us are taught to ignore or diminish: the obstacles that stand in our way.”
Does it work?
The science says, YES.
WOOP was tested on fifth graders, who used the tool for a schoolwork-related goal of their choice, and after using the tool, each student’s GPA, on average, increased an entire grade level, their conduct improved, and their absences decreased.
WOOP was also used on a large group of middle-aged women who set goals around increasing their exercise, and after an average of 10 weeks, their physical activity was increased by 100%. (Angela Duckworth et al, 2013)
Are you ready to give it a try?
All you need is a minimum of 5 minutes and quiet focused time. Go get a pen and notebook, and follow these prompts to set a career goal for yourself.
WOOP = Wish, Outcome, Obstacles, Plan
WISH
What is the most important wish for your career (it can be big or small).
Identify one important wish that you have control over, or in other words, it’s feasible. (And if you aren’t sure if it’s feasible, you can actually use this tool to determine feasibility.)
Example: My wish is to find a job that utilizes my talents and pays me what I want.
OUTCOME
What would be the best outcome of this wish?
Imagine the most ideal outcome and write it out in just one sentence, and focus on the feeling of it. How will you “feel” if your wish is achieved?
Example: I’ll feel successful and purposeful, and that what I do matters and enables me to live the lifestyle I desire.
Then visualize this outcome happening, feel it, imagine it, and let yourself experience the good feelings.
OBSTACLE
Part 1: Now think about the primary obstacle that’s stopping or blocking you from this outcome; this is where you really need to dig deep so you solve for the right thing.
What is it within you that blocks or stops this outcome from happening? What’s your main inner obstacle?
It may be anxiety, fear, imposter syndrome, lack of confidence, frustration, shame, behaviors that block your progress, or it could be irrational beliefs you hold, etc.
Too often we solve for the wrong thing, which leads us to failed goals.
Once you’ve identified what your biggest obstacle is, write it out in just one sentence.
Example: Imposter syndrome: I don’t believe I have high value and desirable skills and talents, and even if I do, it isn’t possible to find a job that will actually utilize these AND pay me what I desire.
Part 2: Now imagine this obstacle occurring and feel into it. (This is mental contrasting.)
Contrast the feelings of the image from your most desired outcome with the image of your obstacle.
“The process of comparing and contrasting these positive and negative aspects of an impending future is what is known as mental contrasting. And the process of mental contrasting is valuable as it triggers expectancies that can guide decisions about goal commitment and motivate sustained goal pursuit.”
PLAN
Strategize what can you do to overcome this obstacle? Come up with a actions, and then make a very simple “When… then... plan.”
When [insert obstacle] then [insert action].
Example: When I start to feel like I don’t have unique and desirable skills and talents, then I make a list [or read my list] of all my talents so I can see how compelling they are, and then I'll apply to jobs/opportunities that leverage these strengths and skills and pay me the amount I desire.
This works because it creates the associative links between the future outcome and the obstacle, and it changes your perception because it triggers your long-conscious cognitive process, which enables you to automate behaviors that counter your obstacle(s).
To learn more about WOOP, check out Gabrielle Oettingen's book, Rethinking Positive Thinking, Inside the New Science of Motivation.
You can also get a brief synopsis of the process in this interview she did with Larry King in 2020.
Or, if you'd rather listen to an episode of Hidden Brain, here she is talking with Shankar Vedantam about WOOP.
Go ahead, start utilizing WOOP for your career and whatever else you are desiring in your life - and as always, I'm here to help.
Let's talk!
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