In 5 Years Where Do You See Yourself?

What if you knew exactly what your life would look like 5 years from now? You’d probably wake up every day knowing you’re a day closer to that reality and be a lot happier because the future is less uncertain.

This exercise is one of my favorite because by the end of it you will have a better understanding of why you do what you do and how personal development and financial literacy fits into your life.

To get the best results you will need 3 things:

A blank sheet of paper
A pen
Your imagination

Let’s begin

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Why 5 years?

I want you to think about your long-term success. It’s easy to take a goal that can be achieved in a year and break it down into monthly, weekly, and daily goals.

I want you to think about the bigger picture. This isn’t “write down your 5-year plan” like you had to do in high school, this is reimagining real life.

That makes it more meaningful to you. You will use your feelings in your search for answers, as a result, you’ll think more deeply and honestly about how you respond.

My Results

The 4 categories that I felt best represented my future self were:

Family, Health, Professional, & Finances

This is what my completed time travel exercise page looked like.

Or if you can’t read my chicken scratch:

Family

I am married to Alicia, a woman I respect and consider to be my best friend
In addition to Dallas, I have babies. I am teaching Dallas responsibility and preparing him to become independent.
I am teaching my young ones to talk, walk, read and learn. Every day is a new adventure.
Family is my number one priority. I won’t let anything, work or otherwise to come between us. They come first.
My family and I work together as a team. Everyone understands and fulfills their role.
I am mentally present while I’m with the people I care about and won’t allow myself to become distracted by work or technology while I’m with those people.

Health

I feel energized and ready to conquer the day when I wake up in the morning.
I still cook the majority of my meals, but I try new ones for the family at least once a month.
In addition to weightlifting, I run sprints once a week.
I still look good in a suit.
I have less than 10% body fat.
I feed myself fuel that makes my brain and body perform at its best.
I drink water daily.
I encourage my family to make healthy choices to ensure our brains and bodies are in top shape.
I will be supportive of my wife through pregnancy & will research the foods needed to make a strong and healthy baby.
I will make my home one where we communicate openly, honestly and effectively.

Professional

I own my own business which allows me to generate income passively.
I help young adults transition into adulthood.
I have enough income saved where I can provide for my family for an entire year.
I work when, where, and how, I work best.
I enjoy what I do to make money.
I get to use my creative skills every day.
I can work from home if I need to.
I am challenged every day professionally. I can learn new things and grow more competent in my profession.
I am organized and have my long term goals reverse engineered into daily steps.
I regularly sit down and analyze what works and what doesn’t. At least once a month.

Finances

I spend money wisely and never spend it just because I can.
However, we aren’t limited to spending on new learning experiences and travel as long as we plan for it in advance.
My wife and I never fight about money.
My kids will have a head start understanding money & making wise financial decisions.
My money will be divided into a checking and savings account and invested where it can grow.
Our children will understand the value of time and how it relates to money.
Our children won’t receive an allowance or be paid for things children are expected to do. They will earn a commission for doing extra chores.
Our children will also understand their options with money.
Our children will be encouraged to be creative and entrepreneurial. They will not fear failure.

This time travel exercise helped me determine what was important to me in life. By being able to envision my future I can make sure I’m taking the steps to get there. This exercise was introduced to me by Pat Flynn in his book Will It Fly? I hope you get as much value out of it as I did.

What are some of your goals for the future? Leave a comment below.