Vision boards don't easily integrate with reality without first acknowledging the gap between where you are and where you want to be.
I think when we're visualizing about what we want to see in reality, we tend to center this visualization around an ideal state of reality as opposed to the immediate, sometimes messy process required to keep that reality standing upright.
In some sense, this is the way; first have a destination in mind, then work your way back into the journey that gets you there.
Practically, vision boards are a sequence in a series of sequences to translate aspiration into action.
Arguably, it's the only fun part. Dreaming big is part and parcel here, and it costs nothing and feels limitless.
I'd say thinking big is a bit more harder to do thanks to the practical elements involved with coming up with ideas or possible paths from aspiration into action.
We tend to fall in love with the postcard but hate the flight that gets us there, so to speak.
To make it work, we have to build a bridge of sorts that connects the "above" (the dream) and the "below" (the ground reality).
Building the bridge is where much of the work is, and keep coming back to doing the work fairly consistently even doting the boring Tuesdays.
Rising to the sky
It's also not uncommon for lifestyle inflation to be perceived as something to consciously avoid only for it to subconsciously devalue one's sense of freedom by dressing up as "success."
Before a ceiling is hit, there's a virtuous cycle of sorts with spending more from earning more.
You work hard, the numbers in the bank account go up, so you buy the nicer car. The nicer car makes you feel successful, so you work harder. It loops upward until the momentum stalls.
The momentum stalls when one's fixed costs catch up to their income while their income isn't progressing as fast as the former.
Then the unwind begins, less control over your time, and entering a vicious cycle back to scarcity. Now, work primarily feels like working just to service the past.
You're materially better off than before but emotionally no happier. Sometimes even more stressed because of this perceived idea of you having more to lose in keeping a facade.
I believe direct experience is the best teacher in matters of personal finance and lifestyle design; you just have to experience it yourself before any advice really sinks in.
front loading the work
Like lifestyle inflation, leverage can also be perceived as a shortcut to accelerate growth, but it is actually just a more powerful amplifier.
In both cases, there's an increased exposure towards upside and downside, with the crucial difference being that leverage magnifies outcomes whereas lifestyle inflation locks in obligations.
Yes, they share a common root, which is essentially attempts to manipulate the timeline of reward.
Whether you are using debt to buy assets or income to buy status, you are making a bet that the stability of tomorrow can support the choices of today.
Put in a different way, how much future uncertainty are you willing to trade for present advantage?
That's the crux of borrowing from one's future self.
The idea itself is based on gaming timeline arbitrage, at least until reality catches up.
Life is a game. So play it well.
On the flip side, paying back the loan from actions taken by one's past self is usually and in some ways teaching you what your past self didn't know to ask.
Thanks for reading!! Share your thoughts below on the comments.
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