Goal Series – Optimism Bias

We can often underestimate the amount of time, effort, and resources needed to accomplish a goal.

For example, a researcher asked students how long they thought they needed to write a thesis. Most students answered around thirty days, when in fact it took them almost double that time to complete it.

I have fallen prey to this kind of thinking in many areas of my life; from weight loss to growing my business.

So, what’s the solution?

Identify the obstacles in your planning stages.

In my Effectiveness Process, after someone has identified their goal and what it looks like, they list all their obstacles, concerns, and challenges. It may seem counterintuitive, but it actually allows the person to brainstorm how to overcome certain challenges.

When we don’t acknowledge our obstacles and concerns, it is easy to launch into our goals fueled with optimism. Then when we come across an obstacle we don’t have a previous idea about how to solve that particular challenge. My advice is to generate more ideas and strategies before you launch, so you can pivot when necessary.

by Keynote Speaker & Author, Eric Papp