Tuesday, February 4, 2014

where are you headed


Where do you see yourself in five years? That's a question every interviewer I've ever met has asked me. 

And I've been giving it a lot of thought lately. Where exactly would I like to see myself in five two years? Trying to imagine where I would be in five years is a bit unrealistic for me; I don't even know what I'll be doing in five days let alone years.

And instead of just thinking of where I'd like to see myself in two years, I'm also thinking about what I can do now to in order to reach those goals. What kind of skill sets can I build for myself? Where should I be putting most of my time and effort so I can get the best results? It's more about how I'm going to get there, and less of where I see myself. To be completely honest with you, I'm not sure where I'll be or what I'll be like in two years or even a year from now. 

Who I am today isn't what I envisioned a year ago. There are opportunities all around us, and that's the beauty of life. Who are you today doesn't have to be who you are tomorrow. It's never too late to go back to school. It's never too late to start learning how to knit. It's never too late to be the person you want to be. We often think we have to live life a certain way and we get immensely stressed out about it when that doesn't happen; I know that's how I get when I'm not on the same path as my peers.


We're all headed to different places in our life. Some people want kids and others don't. Some are busy traveling the world while others are busy finishing school. Some are still living while their parents and others may be struggling to pay this month's rent. What I've learned is that everyone is different, so don't compare your journey to others. You may be in a completely different ballpark.

It's taken me a while to get use to the idea that I don't have to do what everyone else is doing in order to be "successful," because my views of success may not be the same as the person sitting next to me. And that's okay. That's the other beauty of life. Everyone is on their own path. There isn't just one path in life; it's not a "one size fits all" kind of thing.
 
And realizing this has helped me decide what I'd like the next milestone of my life to be.

- What about you? Are you now where you thought you be would be five years ago?
- Are you happy with where you are now and with the person you've become?
- Aren't you excited for the future despite how nerving racking it may all seem at times?

2 comments:

  1. Wow! That first quote!! So true, and even though I'm still struggling with it, I remember the first time it actually resonated with me. I was in college and changing my major every 10 minutes because I didn't know what exactly I wanted to be/do - I was freaking out! My mom told me "Just because you major in something doesn't mean you're tied to it!" - It kind of put a light bulb above my head and was like, hey yeah!! From that point on, I was able to allow myself to make my own path. Great post!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's really good advice from your mom! For the longest time, I felt like everything I had to do had to be related to my major and in the end it just left me feeling exhausted and burnout. Thanks for commenting!

      Delete