Ten Wild Paths

Think of a situation. A decision or crossroads where your options feel limited, at work or in life.

Write ten wild paths. Grab a piece of paper and set the timer below (or your own) for 15 minutes. Brainstorm ten completely different five-year plans for your life, or for a career, a project or a team, using the prompts below. Don’t judge or filter. Let them be wild!

Path 1: The one you’re currently on.
Path 2: What you’d do if Path 1 was suddenly impossible.
Path 3: Your secret childhood dream.
Path 4: A path centred entirely around a hobby.
Path 5: A path where you move to a completely different country.
Paths 6 to 10: Get crazy! What would you do if you were a rock star? A scientist? A baker? An adventurer?

Ask yourself the question. When the timer ends, read your list. Which ideas give you a spark of energy? Which of the “silly” ones point to something you value or want? If none does, add a few more and look again.

Why use it

When we feel stuck, the mind narrows our options to a couple of obvious ones, and both can feel flat. Often the problem isn’t a lack of good options but a lack of imagination. Trying to be realistic too early shuts our creativity down, and we end up choosing the lesser of two evils.

What it is

A structured brainstorm. You list ten wildly different paths forward, with no filtering, and give yourself permission to be playful and unrealistic. The aim isn’t to find the right answer but to generate a wide range of possibilities.

It works because it pulls your thinking out of its rut. Even if nine of the ideas are bonkers, the tenth might hold a spark, and a “silly” idea can reveal a value or desire you hadn’t admitted.

When to use it

You’re at a crossroads and both options feel uninspiring, such as staying in a role or leaving, or choosing between two courses or two places to live.
You’re weighing the same two or three obvious options over and over without getting anywhere.
You’re planning your next chapter and want to see the full range of what could be, not just what seems probable.
A project or team is stuck choosing between the obvious routes.

Ask yourself afterwards

If I set aside “being realistic” for ten minutes, what “impossible” paths appear?
Which of my “silly” ideas hides a seed of something I genuinely want or value?
How does simply listing wild options change my feeling of being stuck?

Adapted from the Ten Wild Paths Zoom-Out in The Zoom-Out Mindset. For a free poster of the habits behind it, see Habits of a Zoom-Out Mindset.