WOOP Method Example: Repair a Wish, Obstacle and Plan

If a WOOP plan feels vague or goes unused, check which part needs repair before asking yourself to try harder. A wish can be too large, an outcome can merely repeat the task, and a plan can fail to say what to do when the actual obstacle appears.

WOOP stands for Wish, Outcome, Obstacle and Plan. The official practice FAQ presents them in that order, with time to imagine the desired outcome and the main inner obstacle. It also distinguishes an action from the conditional plan that uses it. The fictional case below troubleshoots those distinctions; it is not a report of a successful intervention.

Noemi wants to send a handmade postcard to a friend. She already has a pencil, a blank card and a quiet opening on Sunday. Her first attempt bundles that modest intention with a much larger ambition and a material she does not own. “Try harder” offers no usable response, and “when inspired” waits for a favorable feeling instead of identifying the difficulty.

Is WOOP just a list of four answers?

The written record is a reminder of the exercise. It does not replace taking time to imagine the desired outcome and then the inner obstacle. Work through Wish, Outcome, Obstacle and Plan in that order, in a quiet opening when you can concentrate. The example demonstrates the distinctions; it makes no promise that following the steps will produce the desired result.

Repair the wish before fixing the plan

Noemi chooses a pencil sketch because it fits the materials available. She does not pretend the missing paints are an inner problem. If watercolor were essential to what she wanted, obtaining supplies or postponing the wish would remain real options.

1. Wish

   Make a pencil postcard this Sunday.

   This gives Noemi something specific to attempt within an available opening. It does not require becoming an accomplished artist or controlling the friend's reaction.

2. Outcome

   Have something personal ready to send.

   Noemi pauses to picture placing her own small drawing beside the friend's address. The appealing part is making a personal gesture. If that prospect feels unimportant, she can reconsider the wish rather than invent enthusiasm.

3. Obstacle

   I keep rejecting ordinary subjects before drawing them.

   She pictures the familiar moment: looking from the mug to the plant, then searching for something more impressive. That specific inner response is different from the external lack of paints. It is also more useful to examine than calling herself “an uncreative person.”

4. Plan

   Connect a recognizable obstacle to a chosen response.

   Noemi first chooses an action she could perform at that moment. Then she places it in an if–then sentence, as shown below.

Use the next attempt to locate the problem

Suppose Sunday arrives and Noemi starts looking for a better subject. She notices the pattern, but the card is still in a cupboard and she cannot find it. That fictional result does not establish that the wish was wrong or that she lacks discipline. Her chosen response required a material that was unavailable at the moment of use.

Before another attempt, she can put the card and pencil together and go through her WOOP again. The preparation change addresses access to materials. The inner obstacle remains subject rejection unless a later attempt gives her reason to identify something different. Keep these explanations separate.

Keep a branch for adjusting, postponing or stopping

The official FAQ explicitly allows changing, postponing or releasing a wish that is outside one's scope of action. In Noemi's case, an unexpected commitment might remove Sunday's opening. She can choose another time. If she no longer wants to send a drawing, she can choose a different gesture or leave this wish behind. Neither requires finding a defect in herself.

The record can sit alongside a decision journal that preserves why you chose a particular next step. No numerical theme is needed to select the wish, explain an obstacle or decide when to stop.