In my twenties and thirties I didn’t really plan for anything past the next six months. Now that I’m in my forties {when did that happen?}, I find myself wanting to plan out the next twenty years; there’s still so much I want to do, and I’m so aware of how quickly time goes, that I think having a plan will help.
My question is, as life can change in an instant, is it silly to try and plan for the next twenty years? Or, does it make sense to know what you’re aiming for?
The world makes way for the man who knows where he is going.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
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{photo credit: hownowdesign}
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
I am a nightmare planner…! I usually have at least three alternative plans laid out for the next 6 months – two years – ten years
I think there’s nothing wrong with having plans, provided you are aware that circumstances may make them completely obsolete and irrelevant at any moment…maybe?
.-= rachel´s last blog ..sponsor my mum… =-.
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Move to Portugal Reply:
April 19th, 2010 at 8:44 am
Hi rachel, me too! Thanks for dropping by; I’m glad I’m not the only one
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I think it is important to have a picture of what you want your life to look like, and start heading towards that. You don’t necessarily have to plan out every step, because as you say life is unpredictable. But having a destination in mind can keep you on course when your ship is buffetted by the winds of change. This is the big picture.
Having said that, it also important to live in the moment, and enjoy what comes your way on a daily basis.
I do plan some things in a fair amount of detail. Finances is one area. But there’s much I just take as it comes.
.-= Tony´s last blog ..The Monkey Trap =-.
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Move to Portugal Reply:
April 19th, 2010 at 8:48 am
@Tony…your blogging again..made my day
Agree with all you say; Live in the moment, but also have a rough outline of where you want to be!
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@Laura: hehe…you noticed, thanks. In fact it’s my first real “serious” blog attempt. Although I have been running (in the loosest sense) a Thailand-related web site for a while. Not sure if I will be heard above all the other great blogs out there, and if anyone will want to listen, but it’ll be a fun experiment anyway.
.-= Tony´s last blog ..The Monkey Trap =-.
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Well Im a big planner, I’ve been planning to escape the rat race aka early retirement/semi retirement (im still not sure which label to use
) for the last 10 years!
.-= Dreamer´s last blog ..Would it be so bad if…. =-.
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I love to plan, probably a bit too much. Especially since what you want tends to change too.
Though I think I love planning so much because I love the ‘dreaming’ part of planning. What are the possibilities? What do I want to go after? It’s fun to let your mind wander about who and where you could be in 20 years.
.-= Jaime @ Eventual Millionaire´s last blog ..How Do Young, Inexperienced, Poor Entrepreneurs Make a Million? =-.
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I’m a planner, but flexible. I need to know how I’m going to get where I want to go, allowing for some understanding/acceptance things change
.-= Frugal Trenches´s last blog ..Who Says You Can’t Eat Healthily On A Budget? =-.
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I tend to project myself into the future–maybe five years at a time. I think about what I’d like to accomplish and maybe set a few goals. So far, it’s worked out pretty well–the interesting part is knowing when to let go of goals or ideas that you dreamed up years ago that no longer serve you.
As for things like having a detailed financial plan, I don’t really do that. I kind of put money aside as I can, keep a good emergency fund, spend conservatively–that kind of thing. You really can’t tell what will happen later on in life.
.-= Simple in France´s last blog ..Risks you’d take to live your dream =-.
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