“I want to be happier.” “I want to get fit.” Wishes like these are easy to make and hard to act on. NLP’s answer is the well-formed outcome, a checklist for turning a wish into a goal you can work with.
The checklist
NLP versions vary, but the usual conditions are:
- State it positively. What you want, not what you don’t. (“Speak calmly in meetings,” not “stop panicking.”)
- Make it specific and testable. How will you know you’ve got it? What will you see, hear and feel?
- Keep it in your control. “Get promoted” depends on others. “Apply for the role and prepare well” is yours to do.
- Fit it into your life. Who and what will it affect? Is anything you value at risk? NLP calls this an “ecology check”.
- Check your resources. What do you already have, and what do you need?
- Name the first step. What will you do this week?
What goal-setting research says
This is one of the best-researched areas in psychology. In their 2002 review of 35 years of work, Edwin Locke and Gary Latham summarised the core finding: specific, difficult goals lead to higher performance than easy goals or an instruction to “do your best”, provided that:
- you are committed to the goal,
- you get feedback on progress, and
- you have the ability and knowledge to do the task.
Goals work by directing attention, increasing effort, helping you persist, and encouraging you to find useful strategies.
How they line up
| NLP condition | Research parallel |
|---|---|
| Specific and testable | Specific goals outperform vague ones |
| Positive wording | Approach goals (moving toward something) tend to be easier to sustain than avoidance goals |
| In your control | Matches the advice to focus on actions you can take |
| Resources | Ability and knowledge are needed |
| First step | Feedback and planning keep goals alive |
So most of the checklist is ordinary, sensible goal-setting wearing NLP clothes. That’s a compliment. It means the advice is sound, even though the NLP label adds nothing to the evidence.
Where it can mislead
- Over-reaching. “Difficult” goals help only if you’re committed and have the skills. A target that is hopeless can demoralise.
- Tunnel vision. Strong focus on one goal can make you ignore other things that matter.
- Wishful visualising. Imagining success is not the same as planning for obstacles (see NLP part 14).
A quick exercise
- Write your goal in one positive sentence.
- Add a measure: “I’ll know I’ve got it when…”
- Underline the parts you control.
- Write one thing you’ll do in the next seven days.
- Decide how you’ll check progress, and when.
In hypnosis
Hypnotherapists often start a session by clarifying the goal, because suggestions work best when they are specific, positive and believable (see hypnosis series, part 49).
The bottom line
Well-formed outcomes are good goal-setting in NLP language. The research behind goal-setting is far stronger than the research behind NLP, so lean on the former.
Next in the series: Mental Rehearsal and Visualisation: Does Imagining It Help?
This article is for general information and is not medical advice.