how you want to change it. This leads to an away from
motivation, in that you are motivated away from what you don’t
want. For example, you might change jobs to get away from
what you don’t like about your current one. You might leave
your partner because you are not happy with your relationship,
or you might go away on holiday to get a break from the stress
you are feeling in what you are doing. This kind of goal might
be expressed like this:
❏ I want to lose weight.
❏ I don’t want to have another argument with him.
❏ I want to give up smoking.
❏ I want more spare time.
❏ I want less stress in my work.
❏ I must clear my desk.
❏ I should go to that meeting.
The language in all of these indicates that what the person is
thinking about is how things are at the present, even though
they want to change them.
Goals expressed in outcome thinking mode indicate that the
person is imagining what they do really want as if they have
stepped forward in time and have got it. The motivation
generated by this way of thinking is towards, in that the owner of
the outcomes is motivated towards what they do really want.
For example, they might change jobs because they are so
attracted to a new job opportunity. They might exercise
because they want to be really fit, and they might go on
holiday to a particular location because it is a country they
have always wanted to experience.
Outcomes expressed in this way are as follows:
❏ I want to be really fit.
❏ I want to achieve agreement about how we go forward.
❏ I want to be in good health.
❏ I want to have balance in my life.
ACHIEVE WHAT YOU REALLY WANT: WELL-FORMED OUTCOMES 267