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The psychologists
Gabriele Oettingen
and
Peter M. Gollwitzer
are the inventors of the Woop method.
Photo: JEFF MANGIONE / APA / PICTURE ALLIANCE, PATRIZIA JÄGER
Harvard Business manager: In the Corona years 2020 and 2021, most people probably did not achieve all of their goals. If I want to venture a fresh start, what makes a good goal?
Gabriele Oettingen:
Ask yourself: What do I really wish for next year?
What is important to me
A wish that is feasible for you, but also challenging.
Peter Gollwitzer:
It is important that the goal is within the realm of what is feasible.
We all want the corona pandemic to go away.
But that is not feasible for the individual.
It is a hope to have, but if you aim to do so, you will fail.
Professor Oettingen, you developed the WOOP approach. The acronym stands for a four-stage goal process: Wish, Outcome, Obstacle, Plan. How does this work?
Oettingen:
WOOP is a sequence of four steps.
First you paint out your wish, imagine the best possible result and then contrast it with reality - the central obstacle in yourself that stands in the way of your wish fulfillment.
These three steps, WOO, are called "mental contrasting" in the scientific literature and were developed by my team and me.
Finally, draw up a plan (P) on how you will overcome the obstacles, which has become known in the journals as if-then planning and is based on the work of Peter Gollwitzer and his team.
How complex is your method?
Oettingen:
You need five to ten minutes for a WOOP, nothing more.
You can WOOP in the morning, on the train, on the way to work or while walking.
But find a moment in which you are undisturbed and can concentrate.
WOOP is an imagination exercise and needs mental energy.
The method is suitable for both short-term and long-term wishes.
Gollwitzer:
It's a diagnostic tool to find out what you actually want.
And, as with any instrument, you get better over time.
Just as you can use software for data analysis in a more creative and targeted manner, the better you are familiar with it, the more effective you will be, the more you use WOOP.
Professor Gollwitzer, the letter P is about plans based on the pattern "If X happens, I'll do Y". You have dealt with this sentence construction for a long time in your research. How do if-then plans work?
Gollwitzer:
You link a critical situation with a target-oriented action.
The situation can start from you as a person, but it can also be outside.
It can be actual behavior;
a thought that will give you security in a difficult situation;
it can be feelings.
Your plan could be something like: "If I am afraid in this one situation, I will stay relaxed."
Why is it so important to formulate plans this way?
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