The Anti-Vision Board

Most people don’t know what they actually want in life.

They might know: I want to be rich, I want to be successful. But the exact image of it? They don’t know that yet. And that’s completely fine, because that image comes from experience. You need to look around, try things, experience things. And then you know: this is something I like, this is something I love, this is something I completely don’t want.

But what we don’t want in life - what we will not accept from ourselves - we have a clear image of that already.

Every one of us knows exactly what they don’t want, and what will cause them pain.

the dark twin

That’s what the anti-vision board is for. It’s the dark twin of the dua and vision board.

An anti-vision board is a collection of images of the life you are terrified of. The life you despise. The life that triggers strong negative feelings in you.

If a vision board motivates you to work toward it, an anti-vision board motivates you to run away from it.

You need both. They are two poles: one magnet pulling you toward your vision, another pushing you away from what you refuse. One is the life you are running toward. The other is the life you are running from.

There is a quote I remind my clients of: you always make a decision. Either you choose the pain of discipline, or the pain of regret. And let me tell you, the pain of regret is more painful than the pain of discipline.

my own board

The crowded train. Taking the commute in rush hour, every single day - I have experienced that pain, and it’s a nightmare for me. That is something I am running away from.

The rain. I love rain, if I’m indoors. But if I’m outside and it’s raining on me and it wasn’t my choice to be outside - commuting, work - I hate it. I want to be in control of the weather around me.

The dark winter. In the Netherlands, the winter days get very short. Sunrise at 9, sunset at 5. I would enter the building in the morning and it was still dark outside. I would exit around 5 or 6, and it was dark again. Dark again, because the sun had already gone down. I didn’t see sunshine that day, except from inside. We need sunlight. We need daylight. That kind of winter, year after year - that’s on my board.

Getting fat by my own doing. I’m not talking about sickness - may Allah cure everyone who is ill. I’m talking about neglecting my health through my own mistakes: eating unhealthy, not working out. That, I will not accept from myself.

The office at night. A job that keeps you at the office until seven, eight, nine in the evening. Where is the time for family? I don’t care what career it is or how big the income is. This is not acceptable.

Drowning in bills. Overspending, mismanaging, not being organized - and now the bills and the debts have to be repaid, and the interest keeps increasing the amount. This can destroy the peace in a household. It’s why money is part of every life plan I help build. School doesn’t teach it. Most of our parents couldn’t teach it - no time, no resources, often no knowledge themselves. Except the lucky few, the rest of us have to learn it ourselves.

The microwave dinners. Coming home with no time to cook, no time to eat healthy. Takeout again, or something quick from the microwave. You might have a high income - but if that’s how you live, what is it all for?

You can probably tell how much emotion this board brings up in me. That’s exactly the point. I want you to draft one that does the same to you - so that when you look at it, you say:

Ya Rabb, don’t let me end in this fate. Don’t make me this kind of person, and help me become the opposite of it.

So that’s my board.

now yours

Don’t just say it or think it. See it with your own eyes. Express it in a visual way, and the emotions become ten times stronger - and a driving force toward your vision board, inshaAllah.

Create it today. Same procedure as the vision board.

This is one of the steps I go through with my clients too. Some really need the push force - they need to be reminded of the pain continuously. Others are already pulled enough by their vision. Ideally, you have both: the push from the bad life, and the pull to the good one.

And remember - this is not just for dunya.

المؤمن القوي خير وأحب إلى الله من المؤمن الضعيف، وفي كل خير
“The strong believer is better and more beloved to Allah than the weak believer - and in both there is good.”
Prophet Muhammad ﷺ · Sahih Muslim 2664

Strong in any way. Physically, mentally, financially. The strong believer has more impact: he can give more sadaqah, he can stand up for himself and for others. He is a person of influence. That’s what Islam teaches us: to be strong people.

That’s what the vision and anti-vision boards are for. To become stronger, more disciplined, more impactful, inshaAllah.