Last semester, I walked into my Introduction to Philosophy class, and one of the first questions my professor asked was, "What's your five-year plan?" She went around the room asking a few people for some input. Sitting in an introductory class at the beginning of the Fall semester, I was surrounded by freshmen, eager to see what college had to offer and determined to take on the world by storm. One kid wanted to graduate with a degree in Intercultural Communications, and eventually start his own business. One girl hoped to make drastic innovations in the medical field. Another kid planned to start a family after he finished his tour in the Army Reserves. And then the professor called on me...
"What's your five year plan?", she asked me.
"I don't have one," I said.
By the face she made, I could tell she didn't like my answer. Like I thought a snarky comment would get me out of having to participate in class. So she rephrased the question as if my lack of a five-year plan meant a lack of goals. My response? "If you had asked me five years ago, where I'd be now, this would not be it. Not that I'm not happy with where I am, but it's not where I thought I'd be. So no, I don't have a five-year plan."
Not having a "Five Year Plan" does not mean I do not have goals.
I recently had a friend tell me he couldn't be in school for an extra year because it wasn't "part of the plan." I had another friend tell me her plan was ruined because she'd be older than she had hoped she'd be when she graduates.
Your "plan" should not rule your life.
Your Five Year Plan reflects the state of life you were in when you created this plan. Five years ago, I was 16 and had no intentions of going to college. Four years ago, I was 17, and couldn't wait to move as far away from home as possible for college. Three years ago, I was 18, fresh out of high school, excited for the things I could get involved in at my new school. Two years ago, I was 19, an education major loving my freshmen year of college. One year ago, I was 20, a finance major, transferring to a school I had never considered going to.
Five years may not seem like a long time, but A LOT can change in five years. Heck, a lot can change in one year. Life happens. Things change. People change. If your Five Year Plan is working out exactly as you hoped, you're doing something wrong. You are not growing enough.
Let me explain. We all have goals we hope to achieve within our lifetime, that is not the problem with the five-year plan. The problem is when we put time constraints on life events, that then we feel like a failure if something is not done by a certain age. Who decided that life needed to be done by a certain age?
So have your goals. As you grow, your list will grow with you. Fall in love and get married, if that's something that you want, at 18 or 81. Have an army, made up as half of you and half the person you love; or just one, or none, if that's something you want. Get that degree, go back to school in your 50s if you have to. Apply for that job, start that business, whether you're newly graduated or newly retired. Still be sure to make a list of the things you hope to accomplish in life. This time, leave out the time restraints. Let life take its course.
Do not let a "Five Year Plan" rule your life. Do not compare your progress to someone else's. Some things take more time than others. Take one day at a time. Shit happens. Murphy's Law states that anything that can go wrong, will. But there's only so much you can control, and there's no use stressing over the things you can't. Just embrace what is thrown your way.
You can accomplish whatever you set your heart on, at any age, or in any order. Stop worrying about checking imaginary boxes.
"May I walk the steps ahead of me one at a time, not wondering if there's a map".
