From time to time, we make wonderful resolutions, such as exercising more, going to bed earlier, spending less time in front of the screen, saying “no” more often, etc. Unfortunately, we sometimes find that even strong motivation is not enough to successfully achieve a set goal. In this article, we will explore an extraordinary tool that can support us in such circumstances.

Why can't we put all our resolutions into practice? Intrinsic motivation and genuine personal commitment are essential for achieving a goal. But that's not enough. Many factors can distract us from our intentions, including fatigue, deeply ingrained old habits, distractions, and more appealing competing activities.

Poorly phrased resolutions

This gap between intention and action is a central research topic in motivational psychology. Psychologist Peter Gollwitzer, who is a professor of psychology at the universities of Konstanz and New York, has devoted himself intensively to this subject. It was obvious that simple intentions often remained nothing more than wishful thinking with no effect (except for a feeling of shame that undermines self-confidence). In the course of his research, Peter Gollwitzer discovered that the way we formulate our intentions makes a big difference.

It is not enough to simply set a goal such as “I want to exercise.” Even if you define your goal very precisely, for example, “On Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday mornings at 6:30 a.m., I will put on my sneakers and go out for a half-hour run,” this is not ideal. However, if you formulate your intention as follows: “If it's Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday mornings at 6:30 a.m., then I'll put on my sneakers and go out for a half-hour run,” you'll be more successful. You probably don't see a huge difference between these two sentences. Obviously, they mean exactly the same thing – but your brain processes them differently.

How does our brain react?

What happens in our brain? Let's take a quick detour into computer science. In this field, the “if… then…” instruction is of paramount importance. It is used when the software must perform a specific action if certain conditions are met. It seems that our brain processes this type of instruction in a particular way. Peter Gollwitzer calls these kinds of instructions “implementation intentions.” Basically, you make a plan to do something specific in a certain situation: “If X happens, then I’ll do Y.” This is a simple “if‑then plan”.

By phrasing your plan in this way, you mentally associate a specific situation with the behavior you have decided to adopt. Studies have shown that this allows you to recognize the “if” situation more quickly and pay more attention to it, usually without even realizing it. When the situation arises, it triggers the behavior specified in the “then” part. You don't have to make any special effort or think about it consciously. That's why if‑then plans even work when you are distracted by factors such as fatigue and stress.

Formulating an if‑then plan correctly

An if‑then plan is formulated as follows: “If Y happens, then I will do Z.” First, you need to determine in which situation you want to react in a certain way. This could be a specific time (e.g., tomorrow at 8 a.m.), a place (in my boss's office), an event (a customer complains), a thought (I doubt my abilities), an inner state (I feel a certain anxiety), or something else. It is essential to be extremely precise and describe the situation unequivocally, otherwise your brain will not know when to act. Next, you define the behavior you want to adopt each time this situation arises.

Rules to follow:

• The IF must be specified as clearly as possible.
• The THEN must describe a specific behavior that is entirely under your control.
• There must, of course, be a link between the situation (the IF) and the behavior (the THEN).
• Simply write the if‑then plan in one go. Just make sure you include the word THEN in the sentence.

Simply writing down an if‑then plan once on a piece of paper can have such an effect? What seems like magic is actually very well founded scientifically. To date, more than 300 studies show that people who use if‑then plans are about three times more successful in implementing their desired behavior than those who do not.

How to use if‑then plans in your daily life

Here are some examples of very different if‑then plans:

• If I am asked to take on a new task, then I ask for time to think about it before giving an answer.
• If I have to evaluate a candidate's aptitude, then I do not consider their gender. (phrase used in a research study in 2009)
• If it is 7:30 a.m., then I take my medication.
• If I come home from work, then I put on my running shoes and go for a run.
• If someone calls me, then I take three deep breaths.
• If I want to eat chocolate, then I eat an apple.
• If I feel anger rising inside me, then I remain calm.
• If I have to give a colleague bad news and it makes me uncomfortable, then I start preparing for the conversation.

Achieving the desired effect

If‑then plans have the enormous advantage that the intended reactions occur automatically. This means that factors such as stress or fatigue have little influence.

If you don't see any results, keep in mind that this isn't a magic wand with 100% guaranteed success. First, you can check whether you followed all the rules of the if‑then plan. However, this “failure” may be a good opportunity to reconsider how important the desired behavior is to you. You may ask yourself whether it would be better to abandon the idea of changing this aspect of yourself at all costs. However, if it is a serious problem that affects you greatly, it may be the right time to contact a coach. It is a small investment compared to the degree of satisfaction and well-being you can achieve by solving your problem.

Incorporate if‑then plans into your everyday life!

I regularly use if‑then plans. As someone with ADHD, I tend to start one task and move on to another without finishing the previous one. So I wrote down the following sentence: “If I want to interrupt my current task to start another one, then I continue doing my current task.” In addition, I don't like waiting in line and I get impatient. My if‑then plan for this is: “If I have to wait, then I consciously pay attention to my breathing.” This response allows me to calm down and relax.

Although it's not a magic wand, the prospect of tripling the likelihood of your intention being implemented is certainly worth it. I recommend you try this wonderful tool for yourself!

Main sources:

• STORCH, Maja, KRAUSE, Frank et WEBER, Julia, 2022. Selbstmanagement – ressourcenorientiert: Theoretische Grundlagen und Trainingsmanual für die Arbeit mit dem Zürcher Ressourcen Modell (ZRM®). 7. überarbeitete Auflage. Bern : Hogrefe. ISBN 978-3-456-86214-9 (in German)
• On Wikipedia, you find a scientific article on implementation intention: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Implementation_intention
  
  

This article was first published in French in november 2023 and has now been translated into English by the author himself.

Author of the article: Beát Edelmann, expert in neurodiversity (autism, ADHD and high IQ) and personality exploration. He is the founder of the Abundana Institute for Self-Management in Geneva, which offers coaching, training, and consulting services in French, English, and German.

Articles about similar topic: ZRM tools – ZRM