V.I.V.I.D. — The Best-Case Rehearsal Method

Issue 46/ August 2025

Read time: 5 minutes

The Shift

V.I.V.I.D. — The Best-Case Rehearsal Method

One of the fascinating features of the human brain is its ability to simulate futures. It doesn’t just experience the world, it builds predictive models of it. 

The most obvious use case is planning. You imagine what might happen in a meeting tomorrow and prepare accordingly. You play out what you’ll say to your partner when they get home later than agreed. You lie awake at night mentally rehearsing a breakup, a conflict, a failure.

The problem is, instead of simulating all plausible outcomes, the brain often defaults to optimizing for emotional safety. It doesn’t ask, “What are the different ways this could go?” It asks, “What’s the worst that could happen, and how can I preemptively brace for impact?”

Sometimes, preparing, rolling it over in our heads again and again, even feels responsible. But what you’re really doing is teaching your nervous system to live in a state of chronic threat. You’re rehearsing fear.

Ironically, that worst-case rehearsal often creates the very outcomes you're trying to avoid: hesitation, defensiveness, disconnection. The simulation becomes self-fulfilling.

So this begs the question: if your brain is powerful enough to negatively shape reality, can it also be used to create positive outcomes?

Science says yes.

Studies in neuroplasticity and sports psychology show that mental rehearsal can directly impact real-world results. Athletes, musicians, and surgeons use visualization not just for motivation, but for performance. When you imagine success with enough depth, your brain starts wiring toward it.

So what if you started rehearsing the best-case scenario?

Mentally practicing the plausible best outcome can create calm, connection, and clarity. Imagine the conversation going well. The risk being received with warmth. The effort actually succeeding.

Here’s a simple framework I created to walk you through it:

V.I.V.I.D.

• V — Visualize the Best-Case Scenario
  Close your eyes. What’s the most positive, believable version of this moment?
  Instead of “They’ll reject me,” you imagine “They understand me.”
  Instead of “I’ll mess this up,” you see smiling faces, calm presence, and support.
  Instead of “This will turn into a fight,” you imagine a deeper connection forming.
  

• I — Immerse in the Sensory Experience
  What would that version feel like in your body?
  A calm belly. A relaxed jaw. Breathe in your chest.
   Feel it, don’t just think it. Let your nervous system taste safety.
  

• V — Validate It as an Equally Real Possibility
  “This version is as real as the one my fear created.”
  “My brain doesn’t know which future is true, but I get to choose which one to build from.”
  

• I — Identify the Actions That Flow From That Belief
  What does calm-you, confident-you, loving-you do in this version?
  How would they speak, move, write, and respond?
  

• D — Do One Aligned Thing Right Now
  Anchor the best-case by acting from it, even in a small way.
  A breath. A smile. A pause. A choice. A new stance.
  

Rehearsing the best-case restores your sense of agency. It gives you more than just a “duck and cover” script. And once you have those new scripts, you start living new realities.

I suspect many people have no idea what they’d do if things actually went well. That’s a strange kind of poverty.

Train for the good like you train for the bad. You may not always get the outcome you imagine, but the moment you start believing it’s possible, your chances increase dramatically.

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