The first step in creating positive change is answering both parts of the question “What do you want?”
The objective, which is quantifiable, answers the question what? The desired outcome, which is juicy (inspiring and motivating) answers the question so what? or why?
Some of us can rattle off objectives all day long, but we’re stymied when trying to figure out what difference achieving them will make. We run the risk of remaining unsatisfied even when we achieve our objectives.
Others of us can imagine what changes we want in our lives, but we can’t formulate concrete plans to create those changes. We run the risk of failing to get what we want no matter how much we want it.
Ciao Bella!
It’s worth the effort to clearly define both your objective and your desired outcome. Let’s say you want to learn Italian. That would be an objective. Why do you want to learn Italian? Here are a handful of potential desired outcomes.
- You want to have a more authentic experience when you visit Italy next year.
- It fulfills a language requirement for high school or college that will allow you to graduate.
- Some members of your family are Italian and you want to be able to understand and participate in their conversations.
- Your girlfriend is Italian and you really want to impress her parents.
- You want to be able to read 14th Century Italian literature as it was written.
- You’re a translator and want to upgrade your resume in order to expand your job possibilities.
Your approach to learning the language will be guided by your desired outcome. If you’re learning it in order to fulfill a course requirement, you can focus on getting a passing grade, after which you probably won’t devote any more time and effort to it. If you want to be able to read Italian literature, you will probably focus on reading and writing more than speaking. If you want to impress your girlfriend’s parents, on the other hand, you may only want to learn how to speak and understand Italian at a rudimentary level.
Let’s say you want to learn Italian to expand your job opportunities. Yes, you can imagine getting better jobs and earning more money. But in addition to that, you’re really intrigued by the possibility of learning more about Italians and Italian culture—and maybe even traveling to Europe. You haven’t been challenging yourself lately, and the idea of learning a new language has you feeling more excited than you’ve felt in a long time.
What’s Your Current Status Quo?
When you’re clear about your desired outcome, the next step is to determine where you are now in regard to where you want to be.
You don’t know any Italian other than ciao, arrivederci, and pizza. However, you’re fluent in Spanish and English, and you can get by in French. You can apply your experience learning Spanish to learning another language. Knowing some French will help, too. There are several online courses you can take. You’d like to have a group of people to practice with, but you haven’t tried to find one yet. You and your brother are currently making some repairs to your parents’ house, and on the days you’re not doing that, you’ve gotten into the habit of spending evenings in front of the TV. But you enjoy languages, and the more you think about it, the more motivated you are to get started.
When you compare your status quo with your desired outcome, you generate creative tension, you identify some things you already have going for you, and you identify some obstacles or potential obstacles. You’re more likely to see spending your evenings in front of the TV as an obstacle, when you perceive your desired outcome as both desirable and attainable. Research shows that the more clearly you see something as an obstacle to getting what you want, the more likely you are to take action to overcome it.
This process (called mental contrasting) can help you create the best, most effective plan to get from where you are (here) to where you want to go (there).