9 In what way does achieving this outcome fit with who you
are and who you are becoming?
10 What specifically are you going to do that demonstrates
your commitment to achieving this outcome? When
specifically will you do that? Be very precise here about
your action plan. It need only be the first step, but it does
need to be precise.
By following the steps to setting a well-formed outcome you
are modeling the way successful people think about outcomes.
By imagining yourself achieving what you want in all senses,
you are programming yourself to get what you want. Your mind
cannot distinguish between what is imagined and what is real,
so you are managing your imagination to work for you in a way
that makes your dreams become your reality.
Outcome thinking is a very powerful approach to achieving
what you want. The elements of outcome thinking are drawn
from people in all walks of life who consistently achieve what
they want in a way that is compatible both with those around
them and with their environment. Ironically, although outcome
thinking appears to be all about the future, it is as much if not
more to do with how we live in the present. Outcome thinking
is how we can influence our journey to that destination. And
outcome thinking can be about how we move toward our life
goals or with how we make ourselves understood in a two-
minute conversation. It is about the long term and the short
term, the future and the present.
You may have read this chapter and thought to yourself,
“Yes, that makes sense.” Nevertheless, we can know the
principles and still not apply them. I recommend that if you
have not done so already you experience outcome thinking,
either by taking yourself through the process or by
experiencing training or coaching that supports you to do so.
All of this theory is common sense—it is the extent to which we
apply that common sense that makes the difference.
Your mind does not
distinguish between what is
imagined and what is realACHIEVE WHAT YOU REALLY WANT: WELL-FORMED OUTCOMES 283SUMMARY