1 February 2006
Successful Intentions Newsletter
Hi ,
How are those New Year's resolutions coming along? Will this be your year? Or will you start first thing after Easter (damn those chocolate bunnies)! You may have good intentions but how do you convert them into good actions?
In-Tension
Whether you know it or not, there's a lot of deliberate thinking that goes into preparing for a goal. How else do you get the idea to shoot for it in the first place? Formulating a goal intention is like fitting the arrow to the bow. You draw back the bow and hold the arrow in tension before you sight the target.
- Firstly, intention itself is influenced by your underlying attitudes and beliefs about the thing you want to do. If you "have to" do it and you don't believe it will work then your intention is not clear. So, how do you feel about your goals this year? How strongly do you believe in them?
- Secondly, intention is affected by how much control you think you have over the behaviours leading to goal fulfillment. If you perceive that "getting there" is largely subject to someone else or some other circumstances, then your intention won't be consistent with your actions.
- Thirdly, intention is influenced by your choice of goal. Researchers have found that difficult, specific goals, if accepted, lead to better performance than easy or do-your-best goals.
Intentionality is your assessment about whether or not to try and achieve a particular goal. If you see the goal as an authentic expression of who you, if it's consistent with your deepest values and most cherished beliefs, and if you calculate that you have a good chance of achieving it, then you will have formed a clear intention!
Implementation
Clear goal intention implies a sense of commitment or obligation to reach that goal. "I intend to reach x!" This reflects your level of motivation, the determination to try and attain a goal and persist in the face of difficulties. Success is determined by 4 factors:
- How you direct your attention.
- Your goal-oriented effort.
- The degree of persistence over time, and
- Development of a strategy to get there.
Research shows that having a strategy or a plan to achieve your goal is just as important as having a clear goal intention. It allows you to concentrate on the means to achieve your goal, and not just the ends. This gives you a kind of default position when you face obstacles or get distracted. An implementation intention sounds like, "When situation x arises, I will do response y!"
Results show that individuals who form clear implementation intentions perform better at achieving their goals than those who don't. The strength of your implementation intention varies with the quality of your strategy and the strength of your commitment to that strategy.
Try this test to see how committed you are to implementing your goal. Read each item rating carefully before deciding whether you agree or not on a 5-point scale. Then add up your points.
- I am committed to a particular strategy (5 - strongly agree to 1 - strongly disagree).
- I have a solid idea about how to achieve this goal (5 - strongly agree to 1 - strongly disagree).
- I am willing to try several strategies while working on this task (1 - strongly agree to 5 - strongly disagree).
- Sticking to one strategy is important to me (5 - strongly agree to 1 - strongly disagree).
- I will not hesitate to switch strategies if a new strategy becomes apparent to me while working on this task (1 - strongly agree to 5 - strongly disagree).
Well, how did you go? 20-25 indicates strong commitment. 5-10 is pathetic!
Success!
You can do it , yes you can! You can load the arrow of your intention, pull back on the bow of motivation, calculate the strategy of how to reach the target, and let fly to your goal! All it takes is clear goal intention plus clear implementation intention!
Watch out for "The 10 Commandments of Coaching!" in the next edition of the Successful Intentions Newsletter
Keep your intentions clear,
Peter Webb
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