Five Steps to a Well Formed Outcome

In NLP we refer to goals and objectives as outcomes. If you want to improve your chances of attaining your outcome you need to make sure that it is well formed. A well formed outcome is far more likely to be reached and if you follow these simple six steps you will massively improve your chances of success.

Step One : Know what you want

The first step in designing a well formed outcome is to know what you want. Unfortunately most people are much better at identifying what they don’t want that what they do want. The problem with this is that it puts your focus on something that you are trying to avoid. Where you put your focus is where you are going to head and so inevitably people end up achieving exactly what they set out to avoid. However knowing what you don’t want is a good first step to designing your desired outcome. If you don’t want to be fat then reverse it to I want to be slim and healthy. Or if you don’t want to procrastinate then your outcome should be to start your work quicker.

Step Two: Set a timeframe

Next setup a timeframe for your outcome. This is when you want to achieve your outcome by. If you do not set a timeframe you may reach your outcome but not in time for it to do you any good. It will also sharpen your focus and get you motivated to take action. When you are designing your outcome you might frame it using words such as next month or by the end of the year.

Step Three: Take control

Once you have formulated your outcome and you know by when you want to achieve it you must next make sure that it is within your control. You must be the one to be responsible for the outcome. You should not rely on others for the outcome to occur. This does not mean that other people cannot be involved in your outcome. Most great achievements require more than one person. Just make sure that when you design your outcome you put it in terms of the influence that you will have on other people.

Step Three: Get specific

After you have made sure that you have responsibility for the outcome you should check to make sure that the outcome is specific. This means that you will be able to measure or not whether you have achieved your outcome. If you are trying to lose weight then how much pounds exactly are you trying to lose. If you want to increase your income, then by how much a month do you want to increase it? When you picture achieving your outcome you should note any sounds or sights that you see. You may want to include how it feels to have achieved your outcome. This will ensure that the outcome is completely desirable for you.

Step Four: Identify resources

The next step is to identify the resources that you will need in order to achieve your outcome. This might consist of time, people and money. The resources that you need might not be only external however you may also have internal resources that you will need to gain. For example if you outcome will require a lot of public speaking then you may need to work out how you can gain the inner state to be a good public speaker.

Step Five: Perform an ecology check

Finally you need to perform what is known as an ecology check. This is where you make sure that the goal you are setting out to achieve does not conflict with any of your other desires or beliefs. Ask yourself questions such as what you will gain if you achieve this outcome? What could you lose as a result of achieving this outcome? What will occur in your life if you fail to achieve the outcome? Make sure that the outcome is not counter to any of your firmly held beliefs. If it is you may either have to work on your beliefs or the formulation of the outcome?

If you follow these steps carefully then created well-formed outcomes will not be difficult. A well-formed outcome is much more likely to be achieved. The journey from beginning to the completion of your outcome will take time; make sure that the destination is worthwhile before you begin.