“The best way to predict your future is to create it.” — Peter Drucker

What do you want your life to look like 10 years from now?

Not just your job title, your retirement number, or where you might live—but how you feel, what you’re learning, how you’re connecting, and how you’re spending your time. Vision planning isn’t just a business tool or something reserved for your 20s or 30s. It’s a life skill—one that becomes more powerful as you grow older, wiser, and more intentional.

Whether you’re 35 or 85, having a clear vision of the next decade gives your days more purpose, your goals more structure, and your time more meaning. It helps you navigate transitions, build resilience, and design a life aligned with your values—not just your obligations.

A 2021 study published in Psychological Science found that people who regularly engage in future visualization and goal-setting are significantly more likely to follow through on long-term goals, build healthier habits, and report greater overall life satisfaction (Psychological Science).

So what does it look like to intentionally map a decade—and how can you turn vision planning into an inspiring practice, not an overwhelming chore?

Step 1: Start With a Life Audit

Before you can plan forward, it helps to pause and take inventory of where you are now. This isn’t about judging yourself—it’s about seeing clearly.

Divide your life into what Age Brilliantly calls the 8 Life Essentials: Health, Wealth, Purpose, Passion, Relationships, Career, Learning, and Time Mastery. Rate your satisfaction in each area from 1 to 10.

Action Step: Use a journaling app likeDay One orPenzu to reflect: What’s working? What’s missing? What needs attention in the next decade?

Step 2: Visualize the Future You Want

Now, imagine yourself 10 years from today. What does a fulfilling life look like for you then? Who’s with you? What are you doing, learning, feeling? Where are you living? How are you contributing?

This isn’t just wishful thinking—it’s neuroscience. A study from the University of Oregon found that vividly imagining a detailed future activates the same neural pathways as real-life planning and decision-making (University of Oregon).

Action Step: Create a vision board usingCanva or physically with magazine cutouts and markers. Make sure it includes not just goals but feelings and values.

Step 3: Reverse Engineer the Decade

Once you see the big picture, break it down. What needs to happen in the next 1, 3, 5, and 10 years to bring that vision to life? What habits, relationships, or changes will support your growth?

Apps likeTrello orNotion help you organize your decade into actionable goals, milestones, and progress trackers.

Action Step: Choose one of your 10-year goals and identify the first 3 steps to take this month. It could be signing up for a class, reaching out to a mentor, or adjusting your daily routine.

Step 4: Anchor Your Vision in Your Values

It’s easy to set goals that impress others—but don’t fulfill you. Vision planning is most powerful when it’s deeply rooted in your core values.

Use a tool like theThink2Perform Values Exercise to identify your top values, and check if your vision reflects them.

“Your vision will become clear only when you look into your heart.” — Carl Jung

Action Step: Rewrite one of your 10-year goals to reflect a value (e.g., “Retire early” becomes “Create more time freedom to travel and volunteer”).

Step 5: Share It—and Evolve It

Vision planning doesn’t have to be a solitary exercise. Share your plans with trusted friends, family, or a mentor. Their encouragement and accountability can keep you inspired when life gets busy or uncertain.

And remember—your vision will evolve as you do. It’s not set in stone; it’s a compass that helps you navigate forward with intention.

Action Step: Schedule a recurring “vision check-in” every 6 months. Use it to reflect, reset, and realign based on where life has taken you.

Let’s Make It Interactive

What would your future self thank you for starting today?
 What’s one dream you’ve delayed that could begin with a 10-minute action this week?
 Which of the 8 Life Essentials needs more attention in your next chapter?

We want to hear from you.

Join us in theAge Brilliantly Forum and share your 10-year vision—or just one piece of it. Let others know what you’re dreaming, designing, and daring to do.

What’s your theme for the next decade?
 Who do you want to become—and what’s the first step in getting there?

Your future is waiting. Let’s plan it—brilliantly, together.