To make sure that a goal does not get stuck in our agenda and lose the sense it had initially, a very effective method is to ask ourselves five questions that will work as keys to increase the chances of success.
To better understand how this technique works, we will take as a practical example one of the resolutions we most often make after the year-end toasts and then abandon: “to sign up for English”.
1- What?
It implies defining more precisely the initial phrase, which is usually ambiguous. That is to say, it is necessary to be more explicit and concrete. For this, it is often useful to think of a phrase that can be read or heard by whoever wants to have clear information about our objective.
Following the previous example, we will say that we want to speak and understand English better in order to be able to defend ourselves with dignity in half a year, since we are going to visit some relatives in Los Angeles.
2- How?
This refers to the procedure we must follow to achieve our goal. If my goal is to speak and understand a certain language better, it means that I already have a grammatical base. That is to say, I must define from there in which academy I will sign up, or if I will take private classes or self-training. If what we want is to improve conversation, we could think of a formula that helps us to speak and listen, either by hiring classes or watching series on a platform.
3- Where?
If we choose an academy, we can try to find one that is close to home or work, since it will be more likely to achieve the objective. If we choose a private teacher and talk in a cafeteria, we should also ask for a place that is comfortable for us. If what we will do is to combine self-training at home, it is advisable to look for a quiet place.
4- When?
This is the most important question we should ask ourselves to stop procrastinating. Scheduling and offering this new objective specific times will help us to turn it into something real. Otherwise it is very likely to end up in a trunk of memories like so many other resolutions we have made before.
In order to answer this question we need to be honest with ourselves. That is, if I have to combine my goal with other activities, if I work full time, if I have small children, if I shop at the supermarket or if I have a dog, it is unlikely that every day I will be able to dedicate at least 2 hours to this new project. For this reason, it is better to make a realistic approach that can be fulfilled and that will help us to guarantee constancy.
5- What for?
Continuing with the English example, the answer would be that everything I learn will help me to be able to communicate verbally in an optimal way with my relatives in my next trip to Los Angeles.
This question is very important in order to understand the functionality of our new objective and not lose sight of it during the procedure. The what for serves us not to forget that our goal is something good and important for ourselves, even if sometimes we find it hard to be consistent.