Written by Ever laid down after a long day at work or taking care of the kids, and wonder what exactly you’re doing? On a micro-scale, we all know what we’re doing. We’re earning money to take care of ourselves, raising children, etc. But what about the big picture? Do you aspire for more than the everyday stuff that work so hard at? Do you have a goal? Do you have a vision of where you want to see yourself in a few years? We are all busy, and its easy to get caught up in all the daily crap we deal with. If we want to make all that daily crap worth it, we have to have a plan. Otherwise we’re just drifting without any real direction. I bet if you did some research, you would find that the most successful people have all had very specific plans for their future with detailed ideas about how they were going to get there. If you’re adrift in the mess of everyday life, where are you going to end up?
Compare it to a road trip. If you set out on a road trip, but have no actual destination, what happens? You may drive around endlessly, wasting time, gas, etc. because you have no direction to travel. You may get lost, or sidetracked, or worse- stuck somewhere you never wanted to be. You may never get anywhere meaningful, or it takes you twice as long and costs you twice as much. What if you not only knew where you were going, but took the time to map out the quickest, most efficient route? Exactly. Life is just the same. Most of us are on a roadtrip to nowhere and we’re too busy to realize it. (One caveat to this, however, is the fact that sometimes partaking in this kind of “life road trip” is valuable… it can teach us how to enjoy the journey as much as the destination).
Ask yourself the following questions and think about your answers. Tip: if your answer, is “I have no idea”, then finding out what your answers are will provide you with the information you need to plan your “roadtrip”.
- What are the values most important to you? This could be family, money, career, relationships, love, integrity…
- What aspect of your life most fulfills you right now? Work? Your kids? Your hobby?
- Where are you at financially? Are you happy about it, and are you on top of things enough to know about where you would be in 5 years if nothing changed (e.g. lay-off, promotion, etc.)?
- Where would you like to be financially in 5 years? Do you know what it would take income-wise, and savings-wise, to actually get there in 5 years?
- If you close your eyes and imagine yourself in 5 years, are you exactly the same as you are now? What do you do for a living? How is your health? Your weight? Where do you live? If your vision is different than the current reality, you need to start figuring out how you’re going to get there!
- If you had a hypothetical month left to live before the world was… let’s say, hit by an asteroid, what would you be doing? If you wouldn’t be sitting at your cubicle, then why are you now? Do you still want to be doing that a few years from now? If not, then what can you do now to change things?
All of the questions are meant to help you evaluate your life now, and consider what you would like to see change (and how you would change it) in the next few years. The most important thing to remember is that changes have to made now if you do not what your tomorrow to be just like today. You cannot endlessly drive around without a destination, if you want a different outcome than the present. That doesn’t mean forget about the present, or waste it, but if you don’t have a plan, if you don’t have a goal, you can’t achieve anything! You also can’t grow, learn, experience, or challenge yourself.
One last thing: don’t assume that just because you’ve done this once before, you never have to do it again. Believe me, a lot can change in one year, three years, or five years. Your financial situation, your family situation, your career. All of those things can influence what is important to you. When those things change, your road map for your future will inevitably change as well.
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