WOOP, There It Is!

Dreams become reality,?when we put our minds to it! "

There was a word that my brothers and I never used in the presence of my mother.?In fact, there were several, but using this one always sparked the same reaction; an icy look and a stern rebuke.?The word was “wish” and the rebuke came quickly,?“Rick, If wishes were horses, then beggars would ride!”.?I once made the mistake of directing the phrase back at my mother after I heard her use the “wish” terminology in a discussion with my father.?I thought it was clever, but I remember my Dad looking at me, closing his eyes and shaking his head as if to say,?“Big mistake Rick!”?I think the tongue lashing from Mom lasted about five minutes.?Suffice it to say I kept a low profile for the next week or two.

My parents were part of the greatest generation.?The Great Depression was not something they read about in a history book, they lived it, and wishing was not how their families made ends meet.?My father served in the Pacific during World War II and wishing the war would end was not what led to VJ Day.?However, they did have a four letter word that began with a “W” that they believed was better suited to helping you get what you want; the word was “work”.?My father would say,?“Rick, wishing is dreaming without doing.?Nothing comes of that!”??Their wisdom and words were not lost on my brothers and I.?They laid the groundwork that has enabled each of us to live happy, productive lives.?However, I do wish they were here now to meet Gabriele Oettingen, a professor of psychology at NYU and author of?Rethinking Positive Thinking: Inside the New Science of Motivation.?She is also the researcher who developed a tool/ technique called?“WOOP”.

WOOP is is a goal-setting and visualization strategy?The word itself is an acronym for four steps;?Wish,?Outcome,?Obstacle and?Plan.?It is a relatively simple technique/tool that can be used by almost anyone.?You can use WOOP to make yourself do things you don't like to do, or to prevent yourself from doing things you'd like to do.?You can use WOOP to gain insight into your daily life, and into your long term development.?And you can use WOOP to fully engage with?something for which you hope to develop a passion. But you can also use WOOP to understand wishes or goals that should be postponed or let go.?In this sense, WOOP is a little bit like cleaning up your life. You can use it as a tool/technique to get rid of those things which might not really belong to you or for which you might not really feel passion about.?So how do we start?

To WOOP, you?simply need five minutes of quiet and calm, which is hard when you have a busy life.?But those five minutes can be the most rewarding time of your day, because in that time you will learn how to be better involved in the rest of your day.?Here's how it works:

1. Wish:?First, you identify a wish or goal that you want to achieve. It can be a personal or professional goal, big or small.?It might be as simple as, “Today is Monday, what is one thing I want to accomplish today?
2. Outcome:?Next, you think about the positive outcome or result that achieving your wish or goal would bring. It's important to visualize yourself achieving this outcome.?It can be a feeling, a specific accomplishment, or a change in your life.?You might say,?“What will be the best thing, the best outcome I will experience, when I fulfill that wish/goal.?”
3. Obstacle:?Now you get practical and ask yourself,?“What is stopping me??What is/are the barrier(s)???This is perhaps the most enlightening and powerful component of this process as you identify internal and/or external obstacles that might get in the way of achieving your wish/goal. This could be a fear, a bad habit, or an external factor.?It’s usually easy to identify the exterior obstacles, but it’s the internal obstacles that are more formidable.??“What is it in me that stands in the way??What is my main inner obstacle??What is it in me, no excuses!"??And then again you search.?It can be an emotion, it can be an irrational belief, it can be a bad habit, it can be something somebody said years ago. Whatever it is, just find it and dig deeper. What is it really that stands in your way??Once you identify that obstacle, phrase it in three to four words and put it in front of your mind.
4. Plan:?Finally, you create a plan to overcome the obstacle and achieve your goal. This involves specifying the action steps you'll take to overcome the obstacle and reach your desired outcome.

Research has shown that the WOOP technique can be effective in helping us to achieve our goals by increasing motivation, reducing stress and anxiety, and improving our self-control. The key is identifying potential obstacles and developing a plan to overcome them. When we do this we find ourselves better equipped to stay on track and make progress towards their goals.?Hey Mom, when wishes get wooped, then we can all ride!

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Embrace the WOOP

Embrace the Challenge.