Psychologist Gabriel Ettington found that vividly imagining success actually backfires: dieters, job seekers, and exam takers who daydreamed in detail performed worse because their brains relaxed as if the goal were done. Instead, try WOOP: wish, outcome, obstacle, plan. Include the hard part in your daydream.
You've probably been told to visualize success. Picture the promotion. Picture the body you want. Psychologist Gabriel Ettingen at NYU has tested this advice for decades, and the results are not what you'd expect. In studies of dieters, job seekers, students preparing for exams, and people recovering from surgery, the people who fantasized most vividly about their successful outcome were often the people who achieved it least often. Why? Because positive fantasies can trick the brain. When you imagine the finish line in detail, your body relaxes as if you've already crossed it. Your energy drops. Your effort drops. Ettingen has developed an alternate method to achieve goals. She calls it WOOP. You imagine your wish. You imagine the best outcome. Then you imagine the obstacle that gets in your way. And finally, you make a plan for the obstacle. The act of mentally rehearsing how you'll deal with the obstacle is what does the work. It anchors you in reality. It prepares your brain for the friction it will actually face. So the next time you catch yourself daydreaming about a goal, picture your obstacles too. Your future self will thank you. For more insights about the science of the mind, tune into Hidden Brain on Apple, Spotify, or hiddenbrain.org.
