How to overcome obstacles to goal pursuit when that obstacle is you! | Psychology Today Blogs

How to overcome obstacles to goal pursuit when that obstacle is you! Psychology Today Blogs

By Timothy A. Pychyl, Ph.D. on March 31, 2009 - 8:02am in Don't Delay

Excerpts:

We've all seen it, if only in the movies - a coach detailing the plays for the football team. Deliberate strategies to get around obstacles to the goal. But what happens when the obstacle is you? What's your game plan?

If you've been reading this blog or others like Predictably Irrational, you'll know doubt agree that we have some biases in our thinking that make us our own worst enemy at times. We can undermine our own goal pursuit with some pretty irrational habits. The most recent example of this from my blog has been our dismal performance at affective forecasting.

How do we run a good offense against our own irrational defense?A plan, as in the football coach's diagram above, is based on anticipating the defense. What typically can we expect? Based on the answer to this question, we're then in a position to ask, "what should we do?" Many great strategies on the football field and chessboard are classic "templates" for action.

The same approach can work when applied to ourselves. If we begin with the question, "What's my typical defense that seems to defeat my goal pursuit through procrastination?" - we can then make a plan of action. The template you need to fill in based on the answer to this question is in the form of an implementation intention to overcome this obstacle.

Read full article: http://blogs.psychologytoday.com/blog/dont-delay/200903/how-overcome-obstacles-goal-pursuit-when-obstacle-is-you
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This posting was made my Jim Jacobs, President & CEO of Jacobs Executive Advisors. Jim also serves as Leader of Jacobs Advisors' Insurance Practice.