A More Effective Way To Reach Your Goals
At the beginning of each year, gyms around the country are flooded with new members as people rush to make good on their new year’s resolutions to get in shape. This is a worthwhile investment since exercise has numerous mental and physical benefits, but unfortunately, after a matter of weeks or months, many gyms are back to their pre-NYE attendance. Maybe you’ve seen this yourself if you’re a regular gym-goer, or perhaps you’ve been one of those who fell off the wagon (I know I have). Why does this happen, and how can we avoid it?
You’ve probably heard that envisioning the positive outcome from your efforts will make you more likely to succeed, and that may be true. However, the drawback of thinking only about the positives is that you experience a spike in dopamine just from the thought of your success, and you may subsequently be less likely to double down on your efforts when you encounter real-life setbacks. Mental contrasting is the process of envisioning not only your future achievements but the obstacles that stand in your way, and in this article I’ll share how to use this technique to create effective goals that can overcome any challenge.
Set Your Goal
What goal should you set? Ultimately, of course, that’s up to you and only you. It’s important that this goal be something that you want to do rather than something someone else is telling you that you should do. Most people think of goals as something you want to add to your life and say yes to, but it may also be important (especially for physicians and other overachievers) to have goals for things you want to say no to, something you want to either remove completely or decrease the burden of within your life. This could be a responsibility you want to relinquish or a taxing habit that you’d like to replace with a healthier choice.
There are two main ways to frame a goal: the outcome and the process. Think of the outcome as “what” you want to achieve, and the process as the “how.” To give some examples using the yes or no framework above, something you might want to say yes to could be running a 5k (outcome), and to do this you set a goal of running 30 minutes three times a week (process). Something you might want to say no to could be drinking too much alcohol, so you set a goal of no more than 7 drinks per week (outcome) and a goal that you’ll go for a walk after dinner instead of having a second glass of wine (process). I personally set both outcomes and processes for each goal I make - the desired outcome keeps me inspired to achieve my goal, and the process keeps me on track and helps me avoid overwhelm.
Envision Your Outcome And Impact
Now for the fun part - your why. Why do you want to do this? Ask yourself, “what will be different about my life once I achieve this goal?” Let your imagination run wild as you envision the rewards for all your hard work. A few months ago, I set a goal to add strength training to my exercise routine two days each week. Positive outcomes I had in mind were an improved sense of wellbeing, increased muscle tone, better posture, fewer aches and pains, and greater bone density/ reduced frailty in my later years. These benefits spanned from the immediate future to decades down the road! You may also choose to think about how this outcome can have a positive impact on others you care about (or maybe you just want to think about you - we’re fully here for that, too).
Identify Obstacles And If-Then Plans
Once you’re thoroughly on board with how this goal is going to change your life for the better, it’s time to do some mental contrasting. Think about all of the elements of your life that are going to get in the way. For my strength training goal from above, some of my obstacles were: I don’t have the equipment, I’ll feel self-conscious about not knowing what I’m doing, I won’t feel motivated to do it, and I might hurt myself like all the other 30-somethings I see in clinic when they start working out. What are the obstacles for your particular goal? A common theme is “I won’t have the energy/ money/ time/ support.” No potential setback is too big or too small to be included.
You can stop there if you choose, or you can go one step further by creating if-then plans. Think of this as front-loading the effort in overcoming the challenges you’ll face in trying to reach your goal. Some if-then plans include “if I don’t feel motivated to do xyz, I’ll remind myself that this is a commitment to myself on my calendar and I want to show up for myself,” “if I feel self-conscious, I’ll ask my friend to go with me for support,” and “if I experience an injury, I’ll listen to my body and do only what’s comfortable while I use my problem-solving skills and other resources to help myself heal.” By engaging in some problem solving now, you’ll feel prepared when you find that you’re struggling, and you’ll be reminded that the struggle is part of the process rather than a sign that you’re doing something wrong.
Conclusion
Using mental contrasting and other goal-setting techniques, you can design highly effective goals that put you back in the driver’s seat of your life and facilitate the changes you want to see. Setting both outcome and process goals allows you to connect with what you want and how you’ll achieve it, envisioning your impact helps to harness the motivation of your “why,” and identifying obstacles prepares you for difficulties and allows you to create if-then frameworks for persevering through any setback. This doesn’t have to be a static, one-time process - put it on a board and revisit, revise, and renew when needed!
Did you try this process for yourself? What were your takeaways? At EmpoweredMD, we’re committed to helping you live an empowered, fulfilling life. If you want to be part of our community, please join today for more how-tos, or learn about working with us in-depth by scheduling a free coaching consultation.