How to change your personal behaviour successfully

When it comes to improving yourself and developing new habits -

The best source of advice comes from self-help gurus who offer up advice based only on their own personal experiences

You may benefit most by following the guidance of scientists from reputable universities and business schools

You must envision success and then write out implementation intentions

You should work on your behaviour to ensure that you are more assertive and more able to make a stronger impact at work

The research on fantasising and envisioning suggests that fantasising -

Has no effect on current mood but does significantly boost motivation to change oneself

Improves current mood but has no effect on motivation

Improves current mood but may reduce levels of motivation to change oneself

Both improves current mood and stimulates higher levels of motivation

Creating a vivid mental movie of a desirable future situation -

Is a strategy typically adopted by people who are unmotivated to change themselves

May be a valid technique for improving how we feel about ourselves in the here and now

Is likely to have little or no effect on people’s levels of motivation

May have harmful effects on your immediate mood

Gabriele Oettingen -

Was originally a professor at the Berlin-based Institute of Medical Psychology

Is best known for researching the optimum number of implementation intentions for successful behaviour change

Is a self-help guru best known for her advocacy for envisioning and daydreaming techniques

Conducted a study exploring the links between fantasising and subsequent achievement

The research on implementation intentions -

Suggests that having too strong a desire to change may hamper people’s ability to change themselves successfully

Suggests that merely understanding the implementation intention format can significantly increase the chances that people follow through with their goals

Suggests that writing out implementation intentions can substantially affect your chances of achieving their goals and objectives

Shows that having a strong desire to change is fundamental when people wish to change themselves

The format of an implementation intention is best summarised as -

Should situation X occur, then I will do Y

If situation M arises, then I must avoid N

If situation C occurs, then I must consider doing D

If situation A happens, then I will do B

The following is an example of an implementation intention -

If I feel that my boss is being aggressive towards me, I have decided that I won’t put up with it

If I want to be more assertive, then I must speak up in meetings

If I want to make stronger eye contact during meetings and interviews, then I will remind myself of the importance of eye contact

If I feel that I am not speaking up in a meeting, then I will look at my pre-prepared notes and make a contribution to the meeting

The following is the only statement that is not a valid implementation intention -

If it is 7am on a Monday morning, then I will spend 15 minutes writing out at least three ideas for how I can develop my skills in the coming week

I will make a list of tasks for the coming week every weekend

If it is a Sunday evening at 7pm, then I will make a list of tasks for the coming week

If I am feeling anxious during a presentation, then I will smile, pause and breathe before carrying on

The following is an example of a valid implementation intention -

If I notice that I have talked over someone, then I will say: sorry to have interrupted you. Please go on

Throughout the month of February, I will practise mindfulness for at least 10 minutes every day

I will come up with at least two constructive comments during meetings if I want to be perceived as being more worthy of promotion

If I want to be more impactful during meetings, then I will have to do more preparation before meetings and speak up more frequently

In terms of numbers of implementation intentions -

Research has shown that people get the best results when they have no more than five implementation intentions at once

There is no definitive answer in terms of the ideal or optimal number of implementation intentions

Research has shown that people who write out five implementation intentions usually get moderately better results than people who have only one or two

Having more than five implementation intentions generally helps people to eat more healthily than only having one or two implementation intentions

In terms of numbers of implementation intentions -

Having more than five implementation intentions generally helps people to eat more healthily than only having one or two implementation intentions

Research has shown that people who write out five implementation intentions usually get moderately better results than people who have only one or two

Research has shown that people get the best results when they have no more than five implementation intentions at once

There is no definitive answer in terms of the ideal or optimal number of implementation intentions

How to change your personal behaviour successfully

When it comes to improving yourself and developing new habits -

The research on fantasising and envisioning suggests that fantasising -

Creating a vivid mental movie of a desirable future situation -

Gabriele Oettingen -

The research on implementation intentions -

The format of an implementation intention is best summarised as -

The following is an example of an implementation intention -

The following is the only statement that is not a valid implementation intention -

The following is an example of a valid implementation intention -

In terms of numbers of implementation intentions -

In terms of numbers of implementation intentions -

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