No, that’s not a mistake. WOOP is the acronym for a simple system for achieving your goals. It stands for Wish, Outcome, Obstacles, Plan and was developed by psychology professor Gabriele Oettingen who explains it this way:
“Name a wish that is attainable or realistic for you — say, landing a new client. Then imagine for a few minutes what would happen if that wish came true, letting the images flow freely through your mind. Then change things up. Identify the main obstacle inside you that stands in the way, and imagine it for a few minutes. Now on to your plan: If faced with obstacle X, then you will take effective action Y in response.”
WOOP has been demonstrated to work better than positive visualization alone because it provides for contingencies. Next time you set a personal or professional goal, write down your wish, outcome, obstacle, and plan to make it concrete, and put it somewhere you’ll see it frequently to remind you of how you’re going to make that wish come true.
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