Question #27
“Is it really important for me to know where I want to be in my career in five years?”
Dear SE,
Well…five years ago we’ve never heard of Covid-19.
Basically what I’m saying here, is that life happens, and sometimes it doesn’t matter what your plans are. Sometimes it’s okay to go with the flow and gather experiences and lessons as you figure out what you want from life. That can be just as helpful as having a definite plan with bullet points, because your experiences will likely inspire you and feed your dreams.
On the other hand, if you know there’s somewhere that you want to be eventually, you should have a general idea of what you might want to pursue to get you there. For example, if you know you’ve always wanted to start a business, start listening to podcasts about entrepreneurship, or read a book about small business, or take a class on business or accounting fundamentals.
Or maybe, you know you want to live in a fancy neighborhood one day. Learn about whether renting or buying is best for living there, and how much you might need to earn to live there. Save up money for a dream vacation, even if you’re not sure where the vacation will be (or even when).
Do things that lay a good foundation for future you, even if you don’t know exactly what future you might want, or when you might want it. The timeline itself doesn’t matter — the important thing is having a future that you are looking forward to in some way.
