In recent episodes we’ve been talking about why the popular idea of positively fantasizing IS NOT ENOUGH to help us accomplish our goals.

In fact, Prof. Gabriele Oettingen, in a previous BrainFirst Radio episode, had the following things to say about this whole positive fantasizing approach:

“The more positively university graduates fantasized about an easy transition into work life, the fewer dollars they earned two years later. Also, the fewer job offers they received, and importantly, the fewer job applications they had actually sent out.”

“With students, the more positively they fantasized about their success in an exam, the less well they actually did in the exam.”

“In the interpersonal domain, with students, those who positively fantasized about getting together with their crushie, meaning, with the person they really like, the less likely it was that they actually got into a romantic relationship.”

“We also saw this effect with the elderly. The more positively, for example, hip replacement surgery patients fantasized about their easy recovery after surgery, the less well they could move their new joint, the fewer steps they could walk, and the less well was their general recovery - as judged by the physiotherapist.”

We need a better approach - one that enables us to make behavior change stick!