Exercise: “Visualizing Life After Goals”

What you will get out of this

We chase our goals knowing that we’ll experience hard-won feelings of elation, vindication, and relief upon achieving them. However, we rarely ask ourselves whether life will actually be more fulfilling when the initial excitement wears off and we settle into our new normal. This can cause us to spend time, energy, and money working towards less fulfilling goals.

This exercise helps us examine each of our goals and visualize whether life after achieving them will be more or less fulfilling, allowing us to identify which of our goals are most worth chasing.

An example of this exercise at work

Step 1: The Compass of Your Desires

What are the top-of-mind life goals that light up your path currently? Whether it's one star guiding you or a constellation, write down each goal in a sentence. Then, delve into their origins - why are these goals so important to you?

Step 2: A Day in Your Achieved-Goal Life

Choose one of your listed goals. Visualize the moment of triumph when you achieve it. Then, fast forward to a few years later. Picture the "new normal" in your life. Now, script a day in this future life. From dawn to dusk, how is your day unfolding? How has this achievement transformed you and your daily routine?

Step 3: First Impressions of the Future

Let your thoughts flow freely as you note down your immediate reactions to this envisioned future. Are you filled with excitement or surprise? Perhaps, there's a tinge of fear or indifference?

Step 4: Immersive Journey into Your Future Self

Close your eyes, breathe deeply, and step into the day you've scripted for your future self. Spend at least three minutes feeling the textures of this new life. How do your clothes feel? How does the weather feel? Is your body tired or sore? Are you rested, or sleep deprived? Are you hungry, thirsty, or tired? Let yourself grow immersed in this visualization.

Then, once you feel immersed, navigate through the entire day for at least ten minutes. Immerse yourself in the new experiences as well as the familiar routines. Take your time and be thorough.

At the end, write down the emotional journey you experienced. What was enjoyable? What was exhausting? What did you miss about your current life? What was surprising?

Step 5: Exploring other Top-of-mind Goals

Repeat Steps 2 to 4 for your other top-of-mind life goals. As you traverse through each envisioned future, observe your levels of confidence and conviction in pursuing each goal. This comparative analysis will provide valuable insights into the goals that truly resonate with your inner self.

Step 2: For one of these goals, visualize your future after achieving it.

Step 3: What is your initial reaction to this future?

Step 4: How does it feel to deeply visualize this future?