Dream Big and Write it Down

One of the most important things I’ve done recently was to write down my 5 year life plan. It’s been invaluable in helping to shape my goals in life, as well as contribute to my overall fulfillment and happiness.

I was encouraged to create one last year at a workshop. The idea is to think BIG and, in as much detail as possible, outline how I’d ideally like to live 5 years from now. The initial draft took me several hours, and since then, I’ve made several small updates. As I reviewed it occasionally over the past year, I was pleasantly surprised to find that several goals had already come to fruition and that I’m quickly accelerating towards the rest.

I was encouraged to focus on 5 main categories and selected the following: Relationships, Home, Work, Finances, and Travel. I wrote down detailed bullet points for each, i.e: how many hours I work per week, how much money I make each month, how much time I spend on my morning routine, how much time I spend with my wife and kids, how much time I spend abroad, etc.

The exercise was not only fun to do, but turned out to be the most important thing I’ve done in the past decade (besides marrying my wife and giving life to my daughter ?). Every decision since this exercise has been more intentional and aligned with my true self. I’ve also had an easier time this past year saying “no” to things that didn’t bring much personal fulfillment, and I have made life changes (including moving to a different state) that enabled me to spend more time with family and on passion projects.

I intend on taking this exercise a step further by planning my life 10 years down the line, then 20, 50, etc. I love thinking and contemplating about how I can live my best life, and this exercise has truly illustrated that I can achieve anything I intend to do.

I highly recommend creating your own today — and please, share it with me! I’d love to hear about your life plans and how you put them into action.