Coaching practices for Goal Wish Identification
Describe almost anything you are working through and IX Coach finds the practices whose real-world fit is closest. For Goal Wish Identification, these are the strongest matches in the current practice library.
Does this sound like the set of challenges you might be facing?
- I keep chasing goals that aren’t even really mine
- I get genuinely fired up about a goal and then keep falling at the exact same internal hurdle
- I’m down by so much the win is basically gone, and the second I realize that I mentally check out and just go through the motions
- I want so many things at once — fitter, calmer, more money, a better relationship — that it all blurs into a vague "be better" and I never get traction on any of it.
- I’ve set the goal but it still feels flat and far away, like words on a list
Practices that may help
- Name a specific, feasible wish
Start WOOP with a wish that is genuinely meaningful to you and realistically achievable — not too easy, not out of reach.
Mental Contrasting and WOOP - Map the obstacles: WOOP your life-crafting goals
For each goal, identify the most likely internal obstacle and plan your response before you need it.
The Life Crafting Intervention: Scripting Your Future Self - Shift goal emphasis under adversity
When an outcome goal becomes unachievable mid-competition, shift focus explicitly to process goals.
Process vs. Outcome Goals in Sport and Performance - Wish — name a meaningful, challenging goal
Pick one wish that is hard but feasible, and that genuinely matters to you.
WOOP: Wish, Outcome, Obstacle, Plan - Outcome — vividly imagine the best result
Picture the best outcome of fulfilling the wish, and feel what it would be like.
WOOP: Wish, Outcome, Obstacle, Plan - Anchor each goal to a named, personal value
Make the goal an expression of a specific value so it stays motivating when difficulty peaks.
Self-Concordant Goals, Made Practical - Understand the three-goal hierarchy: outcome, performance, process
Use all three goal types — but know which one to focus on during execution.
Process Goals, Made Practical - Goal Systems Theory: How Goals Work Together (and Against Each Other)
Arie Kruglanski’s goal systems theory proposes that goals and the means to achieve them form an associative network in the mind, with each element linked to others. When a single means can serve multiple goals (multifinality), motivation is amplified; when goals compete for the same means or time (goal conflict), pursuing one can suppress or extinguish motivation for another. The theory is well-developed conceptually with a body of supporting experimental research. - Design process goals that are specific, observable, and within your control
Process goals must be both actionable (you can do them) and observable (you can confirm you did them).
Process vs. Outcome Goals in Sport and Performance - Internalize goals you did not choose
Move externally set goals along the spectrum from "have to" toward "value".
Self-Determination Theory, Made Usable
Related concerns
- Anti Goal Definition
Anti-goals, popularised by entrepreneur Andrew Wilkinson, are explicit statements of the outcomes, conditions, and trade-offs you refuse to accept — defined before deciding what to pursue. They complement positive goal-setting by creating a decision filter that eliminates technically "successful" outcomes that would make you miserable. The framework is a practitioner heuristic with no direct experimental study, but it applies well-supported principles from decision science and values-clarification.
- How To Own A Goal
Keep the goal yours even when a coach, boss, or partner is involved in it.
Protect your sense of autonomy while pursuing the goal
- How To Set A Wig Goal
Choose the one goal where breakthrough results matter most — and focus there relentlessly.
Define your Wildly Important Goal (WIG)
- Operationalizing Goals Therapy
For each goal, identify the most likely internal obstacle and plan your response before you need it.
Map the obstacles: WOOP your life-crafting goals
- Specific Difficult Goals
A vague process goal ("try harder") is not a process goal — it must specify what to do with your body and attention.
Make process goals behaviorally specific enough to direct attention
- Three Types Of Goals Sport
Use all three goal types — but know which one to focus on during execution.
Understand the three-goal hierarchy: outcome, performance, process
Describe your situation in your own words to search the complete practice library.