Process Simulation vs Outcome Simulation

Jonathan Fields:

The approach to visualization or mental simulation most often offered is something called outcome simulation.

It asks you to create a vivid picture of a specific outcome, as if it has already happened. Maybe it’s crossing the finish line at a race, owning your dream house, toppling a government, getting an A on an exam or doing your dream job for a living. Outcome simulation can be an effective tool. But, for many people, especially when it comes to the early-days of a career-revolution, outcome is not the most powerful tool in the visualization arsenal.

Indeed, there is a different approach to visualization that had been shown in a number of published studies to be significantly more powerful. It’s called process simulation and, true to its name, it focuses on visualizing not the outcome or goal, but the steps and actions needed to get there.