Where do you see yourself in five years? This question seeks to understand more about your career/business and personal life goals. Projecting where you see yourself in a couple of years is a big form of visualization. When thinking about your future self, you should have a clear vision of what you want to achieve or accomplish by that time. You should consider why, how, and what, i.e your passion, actions, and results.
Another way to see progress and hope for better is by asking yourself if where you are right now is where you wanted to be five years ago. Asking yourself this question creates the avenue to know more about your interests, what influences you, your old and new goals. There are a lot of things that shape us and make us who we are, finding out what they are will greatly let us know more about ourselves. It will give us the insight to make smarter decisions, set realistic, relevant, and achievable goals, and provide us with the time to think about where we really want to be in life.
We have created this little exercise to help you stay focused and check-in with yourself and your career/business path you are on.
1. List out where you were 5 years ago
Write down where you lived, where you worked, the stage your business was in, the type of car you drove, your position at work, the friends you had, the kind of conversation you were having, your strengths and your financial status.
2. Write out where you thought you would be now, 5 years ago
List out what you thought or projected for yourself five years ago. Write about the plans you set for that new career or business. Write out all the tasks you wanted to accomplish.
3. Write where you are now
What do you do currently? Where do you work? What business do you do? Where do you live? How do you feel about where you are? What’s your income or revenue?
4. List out what you need to get to where you want to be
Identify your skills, find the resources, and all the necessary things you need to achieve your goals. This exercise will get you thinking and help reassess your goals.
5. Set smart achievable goals
Find out if your set goals and aspirations are still relevant, if you feel differently, try to see what smart goals you can set and achieve for yourself in the next five years. Give yourself some time to think and refocus your goals to find out what’s most important to you.
Always remember to keep track of your progress and celebrate your wins, no matter how small. Find your strengths and rely on them greatly to stay productive and motivated.
