The Fit Pharmacist: Reaching Your Goals Both In and Out of the Pharmacy

Adam Martin, PharmD: Hi, I’m Adam Martin, founder of The Fit Pharmacist. Contrary to what many believe, focusing on the negative is actually an effective method to reaching any goal. Here is a simple 4-step plan, called the WOOP method, that pharmacists can apply to any goal.

‘W’ stands for wish. Define what you want. What is the goal? Write it out, and be specific.

The first ‘O’ stands for outcome. If you achieve this goal, what will that mean to you? What will the results look like? What impact will they have? Why do you want to reach this goal?

The second ‘O’ stands for obstacle. What are the things that are working against you to achieve this goal? What things stand in your way?

‘P’ stands for plan. Focus on how to deal with obstacles should they arise. What is the strategy to overcome the obstacles?

The WOOP method is a very effective way to reach one’s goals. To illustrate why, consider 2 groups of people who are about to start a diet. One group was told that the diet they were to follow is very hard. The other group was told that their diet would be a piece of cake—pun intended. Surprisingly, the group told that their diet would be difficult lost more weight. The reason is that they were mentally exposed to potential challenges before they started, so they could mentally equip themselves with a solution to overcome them. When things got difficult, they already had a plan in place to work through the challenges, making it more likely for them to reach their end goal. The takeaway is to not always think negatively, but to approach the pursuit of a goal realistically, and plan for the worst-case scenario. Pharmacists plan ahead to prevent catastrophic workflow in their practices, so why not apply that same preparation to crushing your goals? Thanks for watching.