The WOOP method: turn a wish into a plan that expects obstacles

Daniel Gavalec · Updated October 22, 2026

WOOP is a four-step, five-minute exercise: you name a wish (Wish), the best outcome of fulfilling it (Outcome), the main inner obstacle in your way (Obstacle) and a plan for what you’ll do when that obstacle shows up (Plan), phrased as “If…, then…”. The method was developed by psychologist Gabriele Oettingen. It combines two things that work: mental contrasting – imagining the goal and, right next to it, reality – and if–then plans. Positive daydreaming on its own, her research suggests, tends to weaken motivation.

Why dreaming about a goal isn’t enough

“Imagine you’ve already made it” sounds like good advice. But Heather Kappes and Gabriele Oettingen (2011) found that people who pictured the future only in rosy colours had less energy afterwards to work towards it. The brain “enjoys” part of the reward in imagination already.

So Oettingen proposed mental contrasting: imagine the wish and the best outcome – and then, right after, the obstacle holding you back now. The contrast between what you want and where you are creates tension that pulls you to act. And because energy alone isn’t enough, she added a concrete plan for what you’ll do when the obstacle comes. That’s WOOP.

WOOP in four steps

1. Wish. Write down one wish that matters to you: challenging but doable, for the coming days, weeks or months. Keep it to a few words: “Run 5 km”.
2. Outcome. What would be the best thing about the wish coming true? Close your eyes and picture it vividly for a minute: how you’ll feel, what will change.
3. Obstacle. What inside you most often gets in the way? Not the weather or your boss, but your own reaction: “After work I lie down and lose the urge.” Picture that vividly for a minute too.
4. Plan. Write one sentence: “If [obstacle], then I will [action].” “If I come home from work and want to lie down, then I’ll change straight into my running clothes.”

WOOP examples

• Studying. Wish: pass the statistics exam. Outcome: a calm end to the term and a free summer. Obstacle: when I should start studying, I reach for my phone. Plan: if I sit down at my desk and reach for the phone, then I’ll take it to the hallway and open the first topic.
• Exercise. Wish: work out three times a week. Outcome: more energy in the afternoon. Obstacle: in the morning I tell myself “tomorrow”. Plan: if the alarm goes off and I think “tomorrow”, then I’ll put on the workout clothes I left by the bed.
• Work. Wish: finish the proposal by Friday. Outcome: a new client and security for next month. Obstacle: I put it off because I’m afraid it won’t be good enough. Plan: if I notice I’m putting it off, then I’ll write a first draft for 15 minutes, even a bad one.

What research says about WOOP

• More work on the goal. Angela Duckworth and colleagues (2011) taught high-school students mental contrasting with if–then plans before an entrance test. Compared with a control group, they completed 60% more practice questions.
• The effect is real but modest. A meta-analysis by Wang and colleagues (2021) pooled 21 studies with almost 16,000 participants and found a small-to-medium positive effect on goal attainment; the authors note the true effect may be somewhat smaller because of publication bias. WOOP isn’t magic, but it’s a cheap tool with reasonable evidence.
• It also helps you let go. Oettingen (2012) describes how mental contrasting leads to commitment where your chances are realistic and to disengagement where a wish is out of reach. That’s useful too: you stop wasting energy.

The if–then plan (implementation intention) on its own is covered in detail in implementation intentions.

When to use WOOP – and when not

• Yes: a wish that matters to you and is within your power – a habit, a study goal, a work project, a conversation you keep putting off.
• Yes: in the morning for one day (“What do I want to get done today, and what will most likely stop me?”) or at the start of the week.
• Less so: goals that depend mostly on other people or on luck. There, WOOP is more likely to show you to put your energy elsewhere.
• Careful: if a wish weighs on you more than it motivates you and the obstacles feel insurmountable, start with a smaller goal.

For longer goals, such as a plan for the year, WOOP works well as a first step: go through the main obstacle for each goal.

Try it now in CORTEX

In CORTEX (free for everyone) you set up the wish as a goal in Goals, with its first step. The if–then plan belongs with a habit: write a short plan in the habit’s name, such as “When I get home from work, I change into my running clothes.” You can write your WOOP card in the Journal. The Brain Academy has short lessons “A goal that works” and “If…, then…”. If you have an account, open Goals.

app.getcortex.online/goals