Every once in a while I find it helpful to ask myself “where do I want to be in 5 years?”
By asking this, it makes me reassess where I am at and where I am heading.
What got me thinking about this recently? It happened when I viewed a video of myself doing some product demo’s at work from exactly 5 years ago. I was doing the same thing I am doing now. In this case, it wasn’t so bad since I like what I am doing. But at the same time I decided to ask my self that question again.
So, where do I want to be in 5 years?
Well, I will be thinking about that question over the next week or so. Seems like as I get older it becomes an even more important question to answer.
I have found that writing it out and then telling some of my closest friends my new goals is always helpful.
So why 5 years and not 1? Most people look at 1 year, set goals and then try to reach them, often forgetting a few by the new year. I think that looking out 5 years helps you make sure that the 1 year goals are taking you in the right direction.
The other thing watching the video of myself from 5 years ago triggered was this reflective question:”did I reach the goals I had set out for myself 5 years ago?”
In some areas I have and other I have not. But overall I am pretty happy with the results. I break up my goals into various areas of my life, including:
Health, family and relationships, work, self improvement, spiritual, contribution and legacy. In a couple of areas I have exceeded my goals, of course in others, they need work.
I think the most important part of asking a questions like this is to try not to have any regrets when you are old.