“Where do you see yourself in five years?” It’s the wrong question.
It’s a favorite in interviews, and people worry about how to ‘correctly’ answer it. Some productivity systems strongly suggest that you ask this question regularly and always have a five-year and a 10-year plan on file.
Instead of long-term guessing, embrace curiosity and shorter, adaptable plans.
Why I Gave Up My Five-Year Plan
I’ve always hated this question because I have no idea where I’ll be in five years.
When I look back at my life, I see constant change. I’ve had multiple careers, multiple functions, and multiple interests. Even in retirement, I’ve volunteered, blogged, and served as a National Park ranger—none of which I anticipated five years prior.
Right now, I’m experimenting with doing more to help retirees, which may or may not result in more speaking, an online course, web seminars, or coaching. I would never have guessed this interest and direction five years ago.
There’s no way to know what I’ll want in five years—or even six months from now. So, how can I have a five-year plan? There’s no way I can pick what I want to do in five years and be sure I’ll still want to do it six months after I make my plan.
Research Confirms: Nobody Really Knows Their Future
Recently in the article “The Liberating Effect of Uncertainty” writer and neuroscientist Anne-Laure Le Cunff indicated that, based on the research, humans actually suck at determining what will make them happy in the future. So how can we predict what will happen five years from now?
Rather than try and guess and make that a pass/fail goal, it’s better to go with the flow of your curiosity and do “tiny experiments” to see what resonates with you and where your curiosity might lead.
Anne-Laure Le Cunff is the author of a new book called Tiny Experiments. I highly recommend it if you’re interested in a more experimental approach to life that helps you to follow your natural curiosity and experiment with what might make you happy, as opposed to guessing what the future might look like. A short video summary of how to select and conduct a tiny experiment is available on YouTube.
Embracing Uncertainty Sets You Free
This means that it’s okay not to have a five-year plan. As Le Cunff points out, “There’s something liberating about acknowledging that you don’t know what you’ll want in the future.”
It’s actually an advantage to not make a five-year plan, since “It opens you up to possibilities you might otherwise dismiss. It makes you more attentive to the present moment, where your actual preferences, not your predicted ones, reveal themselves.”
Quarterly Plans Keep Me Flexible
I make plans and set goals, but they are limited to primarily quarterly and, to a much lesser extent, yearly planning. This allows me to be who I am and follow my curiosity where it leads me.
I’m not locked into a five-year plan that says, “Here is my goal in five years. Here is what I’m going to be.” Instead, I have flexibility, and it also recognizes the reality of my life and how I have constantly changed my goals and directions throughout my life.
Sometimes, Five-Year Plans Are Needed—With a Catch
Granted, there are some circumstances where a “five-year plan” might be appropriate, such as completing law school and passing the bar exam to become an attorney. But even then, there’s a need for an experimental attitude as we proceed.
We all know people who start an involved educational program (think law or medical school) and discover in the midst of it that it’s not what they thought, don’t enjoy it, and quit. Even if we choose to stay with a program, we must constantly experiment with different variations to see what we’re curious about and what aspect of practice might best suit us.
Before beginning such a long commitment, it would be wise to do some “tiny experiments” to see if your desired career path might actually be a good fit. Maybe interview people already working in the field to learn more about the day-to-day activities involved, or work and volunteer for a limited time.
Live Your Life as an Experiment
Instead of chaining yourself to rigid five-year plans, consider your life an ongoing experiment. Pursue what resonates, stay curious, and adapt as you go. After all, happiness rarely follows a predictable script.
Short-term experiments and plans, guided by curiosity, empower you to discover new interests and possibilities that rigid goals might obscure. Your future self will thank you.
AI Note: I wrote this blog post myself, using my own words for the initial draft. I used AI only to suggest headlines, section headings, and improvements to the text.
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