Warnav Blueprint Program

Welcome to the Blueprint Program of the Warnav Suite. This exercise has been designed to allow you to do an in-depth analysis of some of the virtues and faults of your personality. This process has been taught and recommended by renowned thought leaders such as Jordan Peterson.

General Instructions

The full Blueprint Program exercise has two different stages, each with a number of steps. In Stage 1, you will write generally about your goals. In Stage 2, you will specify and clarify the nature of those goals, and begin to strategize.

We recommend that you complete the process over two or more separate days. People who allow themselves some time to sleep when they are making important decisions appear to do a better job and to benefit more.

The entire exercise will require approximately two and a half hours. We recommend completing Stage 1 on the first day and Stage 2 on the second day. You will need to concentrate and process what you are writing, so try to complete this exercise when you are feeling alert and relatively unrushed.

Writing Companion: To get the most out of this exercise, we've created a structured Google Docs template that follows along with each section. Click here to make a copy and use it as your writing companion throughout the process.

Simply follow the instructions below, writing your responses in the template or your preferred document editor as you go along.

If you need to take a short break or two of five to ten minutes to get up and walk around during the process, feel free to do so. At times, you may be asked to write non-stop, without regard for grammar or spelling. At other times, you may be asked to revise what you have written. This exercise is meant to benefit you personally. The report you produce will summarize your personality and goals.

During some sections, you will be asked to write for specified amounts of time. Please try your best to write for the amount of time specified. For example, if it asks you to write for one to two minutes, please write continuously for at least 60 seconds.

The Ideal Future: Preliminary Notes and Thoughts

In this exercise, you will begin to create a written version of your ideal future. William James, the great American psychologist, once remarked that he did not know what he thought until he had written his thoughts down. When he didn’t know what to write, he wrote about anything that came to mind. Eventually, his ideas became focused and clarified.

Brainstorm freely. Write whatever comes to mind. Don’t worry too much about sentence construction, spelling, or grammar—there will be plenty of time to refine your writing later. Avoid criticizing what you write, as premature criticism interferes with the creative process.

Stage 1: Imagining Your Ideal Future

You will start with some exercises of imagination to help you warm up to the task of defining your future. These include eight questions such as “What could you do better?”, “What would you like to learn about?”, and “What habits would you like to improve?” After briefly answering these questions, you will be asked to write for fifteen minutes about your ideal future without editing or criticism.

Let yourself daydream or fantasize. You are trying to put yourself into a state of reverie—a form of dream-like thinking that relies on internal imagery. This kind of thinking allows your different internal states of motivation and emotion to find their voice. It might be best to concentrate on your future three to five years down the road, although you may choose a shorter or longer timespan.

1.1. One Thing You Could Do Better

If you could choose only one thing to do better, what would it be? Think and write for at least two minutes, then move on.

1.2. Things to Learn About

What would you like to learn more about in the next six months, two years, or five years? Think and write for at least two minutes, then move on.

1.3. Improve Your Habits

What habits would you like to improve? Consider areas such as school, work, relationships with friends and family, health, and habits related to substances. Think and write for at least two minutes, then move on.

1.4. Your Social Life in the Future

Friends and associates are an important part of a meaningful, productive life. Think about the friends you might want to have and the connections you might want to make. It is perfectly reasonable to choose friends and associates who are good for you. Describe your ideal social life. Think and write for at least two minutes, then move on.

1.5. Your Leisure Activity in the Future

Consider the activities you would like to pursue outside of obligations such as work, family, and school. These activities should be worthwhile and personally meaningful. Without a plan, people often default to whatever is easiest—such as television—and waste their private time.

If you waste four hours a day, that’s 1,400 hours a year—equivalent to thirty-five 40-hour work weeks, almost as much as the typical individual spends at a job annually. If your time is worth $25 per hour, you’re wasting $35,000 per year, or $1.8 million over 50 years, not counting interest. Describe what your leisure life would be like if it were genuinely productive and enjoyable.

1.6. Your Family Life in the Future

Consider your home and family life. A peaceful, harmonious family life provides a sense of belonging, support for your ambitions, and reciprocal purpose. Describe what your ideal family would be like. You can write about your parents and siblings, or about your partner and children, or all of these. What kind of partner would be good for you? How could you improve your relationships with your family? Think and write for at least two minutes, then move on.

1.7. Your Career in the Future

Much of what people find engaging in life is related to their careers. A good career provides security, status, interest, and the chance to contribute to the community. Consider where you want to be in six months, two years, or five years, and why. What are you trying to accomplish? Think and write for at least two minutes, then move on.

1.8. Qualities You Admire

People you automatically admire have qualities you may wish to develop. Identifying those qualities can help you determine who you want to become. Think about the two or three people you most admire. Who are they, and what qualities do they possess that you wish you had? Think and write for at least two minutes, then move on.

The Ideal Future: Complete Summary

Now that you have written briefly about your future, this step gives you the chance to integrate all your thoughts. Close your eyes and imagine your ideal future: Who do you want to be? What do you want to do? Where do you want to end up? Why do you want these things? How do you plan to achieve your goals, and when will you act?

Write about your ideal future for fifteen minutes, continuously and without worrying about spelling or grammar. Dream while you write and be ambitious. Imagine a life that is honorable, exciting, productive, creative, and decent. Remember, you are writing only for yourself. Choose goals you truly want for your own reasons, not those imposed by others.

A Future to Avoid: Complete Summary

After describing the future you would like to have, it is also useful to imagine the future you want to avoid. Defining your future clearly can reduce uncertainty and anxiety, improve confidence, and benefit your health. Having well-defined goals increases your chances of experiencing positive emotion, since people experience most joy and engagement while pursuing goals, not merely achieving them.

Think about people who have made poor decisions and ended up living in ways nobody would want. Reflect on your own weaknesses and imagine what might happen if they got out of control. What would your life be like if you failed to define or pursue your goals, or allowed your habits to deteriorate? Imagine your life three to five years down the road if you strayed from the path you know you should follow. Use your imagination and past experiences to form a vivid picture of that undesirable future.

Stage 1 Completed

Congratulations! You have now envisioned your ideal future and outlined a future to avoid. You can use this summary to help you complete Stage 2 of the Ideal Future planning process.

Stage 2: Specific Goal Identification

In this stage, you will define and title your overall future plan, then break your general plans into more specific goals. Each goal will have its own title and description to help clarify it.

2.1. Title and Briefly Describe Your Ideal Future

Specify a title and brief description for your ideal future as a whole. This can be as simple as “My Ideal Future,” or something more personal. Imagine you are summarizing your ambitions with this title—it will help you remember what you are aiming for. In later sections, you will define, prioritize, and analyze specific goals.

2.2. Specifying and Clarifying Your Goals

Break down your ideal future into eight goals. You may reword, rewrite, and organize material from Step 1 or rely on memory. The exercise allows a minimum of six goals, though identifying eight tends to yield better results. Your goals can span various domains, such as personal, career, or social.

• Personal goal example: “I would like to be healthier.”
• Career goal example: “I would like to be more engaged with my job.”
• Social goal example: “I would like to meet more people.”

Summaries for each goal should be brief and memorable, containing only essential information. You will have 10–15 minutes for this part of the exercise. Feel free to revise and edit as needed.

2.3. Prioritizing Your Goals

Organize your goals by ranking them from most to least important. Give your most important goal a rank of 1, your next a 2, and so on. You can reorder this list at any time.

2.4. Strategizing About Your Goals

Now you will consider several aspects for each goal, including your motives, the broader impact, detailed strategies, potential obstacles, and methods for monitoring progress. These elements will repeat for each of your identified goals. We reccomend you do this for your top three goals at the very least.

2.4.1. Evaluating Your Motives

Consider whether you truly believe this goal is important. Are you pursuing it for yourself or someone else? Does the pursuit of this goal feel enjoyable, stimulating, or deeply meaningful? Write down your reasons for pursuing each goal.

2.4.2. Considering the Broad Personal and Social Impact of Goals

Your personal goals often connect to higher-order ideals. For example, spending more time reading supports the broader goal of becoming well-educated. Becoming more assertive may help you move closer to your ideal self. Think about how achieving this goal might change how you see yourself, how others perceive you, and what social impact your success could have.

2.4.3. Considering the Detailed Strategies for Goal Attainment

Each goal depends on smaller, concrete actions. Sub-goals and daily behaviors form the strategies that make your broader goals attainable. Think about what you can do weekly or daily to move closer to success—whether that’s better planning, improving relationships, or maintaining consistency. Make your plans concrete, specifying when, how often, and where you’ll act.

Future Steps

People often undermine themselves by constantly rethinking their goals instead of working toward them. It’s easy to fall into unproductive worry—asking, “Am I doing the right thing?” or “Have I chosen the correct goals?” Instead, concentrate on implementing your strategies consistently. It’s as important to stick to a plan as it is to make one.

If you follow through, even imperfectly, you will learn enough from the process to make better goals next time. Set aside ten to twenty minutes every week or two to review your progress. Researchers have found that people who revisit goal-setting tasks regularly over time tend to experience significant improvements in health and productivity. Consider engaging in this exercise every few months as your life and situation evolve.