MENTAL MODEL · M8903

Odyssey Planning

CreateHigh supportDesign Thinking

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Updated 2026-08-22

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INTRODUCTION

English translation pending.

CORE DEFINITION

An exercise from Designing Your Life, in which a person writes three different five-year plans: the current path extended, an alternative if that path vanished, and a version unconstrained by money or the expectations of others. Each version is then scored for resources, confidence, and satisfaction. The qualification is that the plans serve as probes for generating options rather than as forecasts, and the exercise loses its purpose if the three versions resemble one another.

SCAFFOLDING EFFECT

psychology

Reduce cognitive load

- Use Narrative Break: draft parallel futures so no single path looks inevitable. - Use Preference Probe: compare your felt enthusiasm across the three versions to surface hidden wants.

anchor

Anchor fast decisions

A single plan converts open uncertainty into a commitment, and commitment makes alternatives hard to imagine. Writing three at once restores the option set, and scoring them side by side separates what you actually want from what the current trajectory makes convenient.

MINIMUM ACTION

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Practice this model in one real situation:

Write the five-year continuation of your present path. 2. Write a second version in which that path disappears. 3. Write a third with no money or status constraints. 4. Score each version for the resources, confidence, and satisfaction it demands. 5. Revisit all three versions every few months and update them.

Check to track your progress (stored locally)

Learning progress0%

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Source support: Explicit

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zh.wikipedia.orghttps://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%AE%BE%E8%AE%A1%E4%BD%A0%E7%9A%84%E4%BA%BA%E7%94%9FZH · Explicit
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