Late-Start

I’ve recently updated my five-year plan with the questions I set aside for myself every 6 months. Yes, I am that kind of person, and let’s all agree that that’s okay. Today I want to talk to you about how I came up with these questions and how using them for your own self-reflection might benefit you even if you don’t want to have a life plan.

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So a year ago I was watching Hannah Witton break down her Five-year plan on YouTube and I being the productivity-minded being that I am, decided to create my very own five-year plan. I was partly due to my brain in lockdown wanting to be super productive, and come out of this pandemic with a guide to a better life. So I created my plan, however, My idea for a five-year plan isn’t modeled after Hannah Witton’s; I wanted a more concrete way with actionable steps (if you want to read more about it comment down below) and of course, a way to track my progress and hold me accountable. That’s when I created these questions. They weren’t concrete questions like “where am I living?” Or ” what do I make in a year?” But they were styled as these very self-reflective journaling prompts that I can refer to when I want clarity or to understand my personal growth.

So what are these questions?

1. How can I be an asset to myself? So I often find myself helping other people before myself. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but oftentimes I overextend myself and end up needing to be refilled. As the old saying goes: You can’t pour from an empty cup. So what refills that cup? What makes that cup grow to fill more water? How can you become more full?
2. What do I want to achieve with my time? When I sat down and created these questions I wanted there to be a reason behind my goals because if you don’t have a positive outcome, what’s it all worth? You want your time to be intentional. Why am I doing this? What goal is with spending five years building up to do? It’s not a super small chunk of your life, so you may as well make that energy and effort worth it.
3. Am I living up to my expectations of myself or do I have those expectations have to change? Expectations beget disappointment or so it goes. Though sometimes expectations can be positive. For example, our friends and family have expectations of us and they can see the best in us when we can’t see it in ourselves. Other times we can see our own expectations as a burden on ourselves, as a way to berate us into doing the “right” or “normal” thing. So what do we do if our expectations don’t meet our reality? In the words of writer, YouTuber, and activist Leena Norms, “you are not beholden to a fictional character.” you can change trajectory at any point in your five years; it doesn’t hurt anything. Five-year plans have to be flexible because all things are subject to change.
4. Am I experiencing what life has to offer me? The world is vast, not just in measures square feet, but in energies and experiences. What have you experienced, what do you want to experience? Who can you meet? Where can you go? The possibilities we can’t fathom are often more vast than we allow ourselves to imagine. So try, for a good five minutes imagine that possibility. Don’t let judgment or fear interplay in what you see for yourself.

I personally have found that the more I self-reflect in a positive direction the happier and more positive I become. Yes, my approach is very future and outcome-oriented, however, I ground it in reality and try to make positive steps forward when I can. I also try not to make my goals my entire life. Having a plan doesn’t mean I don’t stop and smell the roses

.So if you’ve stuck around to the end then congrats! This is a bit longer than my previous posts, but I felt the urge to be somewhat long-winded today. If you would like to subscribe or follow any of my other social media stuff then here’s my Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook page.