Week 6 — Goals

• Setting and sticking to goals is challenging yet, assuming you identify the right goals for happiness, it is an essentially practice. Focus on habits more than results…

• Situation support is critical for new habits and behaviors. Instead of trying to “lose ten pounds” think of not purchasing junk food and instead leaving fruit on the counter. This is about creating a supportive situation to encourage the new habit.

• Try to make your goals quantitative, precise, and behavioral. “I should read more” becomes “I will read for 15 minutes M-F at 1:15 after in the break room after lunch”.

• Visualize success and obstacles. This will help you build motivation but also prepare and build contingencies for inevitable challenges. If your goal is weight loss you may visualize the challenge of what will happen if you go out to eat. You decide that you will bring a protein bar with you and only order from the salads section of the menu.

• It is all about planning. Consider using the WOOP model: Wish, Outcome, Obstacles, Planning…

  • First think about a wish you have.
  • Then consider the positive outcomes related to it.
  • Next think of the obstacles or challenges and how you can adapt.
  • Then make a plan. What is good or not so good with your plan? Do you need more skills or support? Is it realistic? What steps do you need to take?
  • Start doing!

  Note there are some final lectures but most of them are check-ins on your “rewirement” which is the challenge of creating a new habit based on your learning in the course. This is that key idea of going from “knowing to doing”. So I encourage you to use the knowledge from the last few notes to create a new happiness habit for the next few weeks.