We have all heard about 5 year plans at some point. Do I believe in them? Of course not I struggle to look 2 years in advance. The world is changing so fast the way we think 5 years from now will be completely different to the plans we were making 5 years earlier.
Rather than making 5 year plans I try to think about what I want to achieve in life and what I need to do to get there. It doesn’t have to be some divine 5 year plan.
If I was to look at my life at the moment and ask myself what do I want out of life? Currently I could answer it pretty easily. I want to work for myself and be responsible for my own success. I want to travel the world and have experiences many others only dream of and a much longer term aspiration is I want to have kids and be the best Dad I can be.
The thing with 5 year plans if you are so committed to following through with that 5 year plan with a very narrow focus you are going to miss out on so many opportunities.
Let’s look at this for example you are a young entrepreneur 10-15 years back and you see the boom in DVD rentals and VHS rentals and you set a 5 year goal to own your own rental shop selling these DVD’s and VHS thinking that the technology is a head of its time. Fast forward to now your video rental shop is worth next to nothing and all those plans and sacrifices you made to get to where you wanted to be seem like a complete waste of time.
I think 5 year plans, especially career orientated 5 year plans really distract us from living our lives. Even when you get to where you want to be if you look back on those 5 years and what you missed out on you have to wonder if it was worth it.
Sometimes when I get so focused on what I am trying to achieve I often have to detach myself from it and make sure I am balancing the social and adventure aspects of my life. I do not want to spend my 20’s in front of a computer screen and missing out on all the crazy adventures life has to offer.
My release for getting away from my endeavours has always been traveling. I have met some of my closest friends traveling and when I think about my life it is always those memories that I look back on as being some of my fondest. I do a lot of traveling on my own which opens up the world to so many spontaneous adventures that just wouldn’t be possible in a group. One day I hope to find that partner in crime that wants to explore this amazing world with me.
Looking forward 5 years from now is scary. I will just be hitting my 30’s WHAT THE HELL! Where is the time going? I have one shot, just one to make my 20’s everything I ever wanted and that is why next year is going to be one of the biggest adventures of my life. But until that time comes I need to work my ass off to make it all possible. I don’t want to even look ahead that far at the moment I just want to live in the moment. The time is now.
Even writing this article makes me all too aware that I need to get things happening faster, make mistakes faster, learn from them faster and slow life down in the small moments, family Christmas’, family dinners, spontaneous outings.
As far as I’m concerned throw your 5 year plan out the window. Get your priorities sorted and live your life the way you want to live it, not the way society expects you to live it.
My 5 year plan… to make a difference and live life on my terms.
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