WOOP
Wish, outcome, obstacle, plan. Picture the best result, then the thing inside you that gets in the way, then what you will do when it does.
For a Habit · Gabriele Oettingen, 2014 · takes five minutes
How to run it
- Wish. Write one thing you want to do, in the next day, week or month. Challenging, but possible.
- Outcome. The best thing about achieving it. Write it, then close your eyes and picture it properly for a minute. Don’t skip the picturing; the contrast is the method.
- Obstacle. The main thing inside you that stops you. Not the weather, not other people: a habit, a feeling, an excuse you reach for. Picture that too.
- Plan. Write "If [the obstacle shows up], then I will [one specific action]." Say it out loud once.
- Do it in that order every time. Wish, outcome, obstacle, plan. Swapping the obstacle and the outcome, or leaving the obstacle out, is what turns it back into daydreaming.
- Repeat for the next wish. One WOOP per wish, and a new one each day if you like.
Where it falls down. Leaving out the obstacle, because it feels negative, which is exactly the version her research found does nothing.
With a pen
WishOne thing, this week or this month. Hard but possible
OutcomeThe best thing about it. Picture it for a full minute
ObstacleThe thing inside you that stops you. A habit, a feeling, an excuse
PlanIf [the obstacle shows up], then I will [one specific action]