Within NLP, the tool of choice for goal setting is the‘well-formed outcome’. Basically this is a checklist of the optimum conditions for success in getting your goal :

1. Do you know what you want?
2. Is it achievable?
3. What will you accept as evidence you have achieved your outcome?
4. Is achieving your outcome under your control?
5. Are the costs and consequences of getting your outcome acceptable?
6. Do you have all the resources you need to achieve your outcome?
7. If you could have it now, would you take it?

I consider those a series of steps involved in planning how best to achieve a specific goal. I’d like to go into each step in more detail and add in some extras which I’ve found make goal getting into a more successful process.

These can make all the difference between a plan of action that works and one that doesn’t.

1. What is it that you want?

You may already think that you know what you want. However, there is much more to this than just that. What is important to understand is that this is about what you do want. Not what you don’t want. For example, ‘not smoking’ or ‘stopping being such a loser’ is a poor statement of what you might want.

For one thing, it actually focuses on what you don’t want! Secondly, the only direction it sets is ‘go anywhere but here’. It provides nothing to focus on and aim towards, so you’re less likely to get any useful outcome. And it lacks a lot as a strategy for motivation in the same way.

So it’s vital at the outset to state your outcome in positive terms.

2. Is it achievable?

Think about it for a minute. Is the goal that you are after actually possible to achieve?

Often, I have seen people set themselves unrealistic goals. Now, what do I mean by ‘unrealistic’?

What I mean is – is it physically possible? It’s not physically possible for a person to fly unaided, for example. Nor is it possible to be the first man on the moon. That's been done already. It's not possible to set a goal to happen in your past. Some people do this unknowingly by striving to make things "how they used to be". 

This is the only limitation I’d like you to consider on your goal at this stage and the good news is – you can be sure of the answer to this before you even start out!

3. What will you accept as evidence you have achieved your outcome?

Next, I’d like you to consider: How will you know when you’ve achieved your aim? That’s right – what will occur outside of yourself that will tell you that you’re there?

Again, some people just don’t know. What will you experience that will let you know you’ve reached your goal?

For example, if your goal was to be a millionaire, you’ll see a certain large number in your bank account.

If you wanted to lose weight, you’d see a certain number on the scales or fit into a certain pair of trousers. This is the difference between wanting to be ‘10 lb lighter’ and wanting to be ‘thinner’.

It’s easy to find out when you’re 10 lb lighter. Someone who wants to be ‘thinner’ has set themselves up so they’ll never reach their goal. They’ll either give up or continually want to be thinner, no matter what weight they really are.

The same goes for being ‘richer’, ‘more productive’ and ‘more successful’. It’s set up so that you never get there.

So make sure you have a way of using your senses to determine how you’ll know when you’ve finally reached your aim.

4. Is achieving your outcome under your control?

It is important to know whether you can actually do something to get closer to your goal.

If your goal is to win the lottery, there’s almost nothing you can do yourself to make sure you get there. Sure, you could buy a lottery ticket, but we all know that isn’t a guarantee of success.

That outcome is outside of your control. So is anything else that you have to ‘ask for’.

I suggest that you make sure that you have as much control as possible over your path to success.

5. Are the costs and consequences of getting your outcome acceptable?

In other words, is the outcome worth the effort? Is the expenditure of time, money and resources worth it, when you think about what you’ll achieve? Are there sacrifices you’d have to make to get there?

Sometimes, it just isn’t worth it.

Often the goal is worth the effort. If not, maybe you could consider a better goal that would be worth it. In any event, you’ll end up with something worthwhile.

6. Do you have all the resources you need to achieve your outcome?

It’s time to take inventory. Do you have all the resources you need to walk that path?

Do you have the necessary time, money, ideas etc. to do it that way? Can you get the necessary knowledge?

These are the essentials to good planning. And it’s important to be realistic, while still focusing on the goal.

Maybe you don’t have much time, but that needn’t stop you. Maybe you can find more time. Or perhaps it’ll just take a little longer.

Maybe you don’t have the know-how just yet. Can someone else give advice? Can you get that knowledge along the way? How might you do that?

Just be sure you have access to everything you’ll need in order to get there.

7. If you could have it now, would you take it?

It’s important to consider the overall ecology of the changes you’ll make by moving toward your goal. To put it more simply, ecology is the study of consequences.

Considering the impact that achieving the goal will have on your life and the lives of those around you, do you still want it? Or does your plan need some adjustments?

This is a very important step, by the way.

If you got those millions, how would things be different? How would your friends, family, job, pastimes change? Because things will change. Could that happen in a way that is positive for everyone you care about?

Suppose you earned that promotion. How would your working relationships change? Is that okay?

If you quit smoking, how would things be different? Suppose your friends or your partner still smoke. How are things going to change because of that?

Apply similar considerations to your outcome and decide whether it’s going to be okay, or if it needs some adjustment.

That’s what well-formed outcomes provide us by way of planning for success. Personally, I add in a few extra things when I help clients do goal-getting.

For more information about those, see my series of free 'NLP Primers' here: NLP Primers

©2006-20009 Philip Callaghan

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