The 400 Project

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

That is a question I have never quite been able to answer. At least not really well.

I generally give a generic response like: “I just want to be happy, working towards advancing in my career, wherever that may take me.” And while those things are all true, it paints an abstract picture open to a lot of interpretation.

So why is is such a hard question to answer? It seems to me that the game has changed, but we are still asking the same questions. Consider this, most people’s paths used to look pretty similar: Go to school, get a job, get married, have kids, retire. It was much more of a straight line. Living within those rules imagining 5 years down the line seems at least a little bit easier.

Nowadays everyone is encouraged to follow their own path. For the most part all options are acceptable so long as your choice makes you happy. Don’t want to go to school because you have an idea to start your own company? Make it happen! Would rather spend your money traveling the world than have kids? Bon voyage!

Even careers used to take a different path. You started at a company at the bottom and worked your way up. That doesn’t seem to be the case anymore. Most people choose to work with one company until they outgrow their role, and then opt to move on to the next opportunity available.

The point I am trying to make is that we have broken the mould of what the stages of life look like, making 5 years from now seem a very far way away.

It is kind of amazing living in a world with so much choice, but I have definitely struggled with the fact that we have infinite possibilities. If the option every morning you get up is to do ANYTHING, how can you envision your future self… Things can change in an instant as well, and that can entirely alter the path and timing you are counting on.

I don’t have a good answer to where I will be, because I honestly don’t know and never have. And that is OK. There is no wrong answer for what to do with your life, except to not live it.

Happy, healthy and doing something I love is really all I can ask for from future Bryan. Beyond that I don’t think it really matters. What is important is not to get bogged down trying to predict the future, just be prepared to face whatever opportunities come your way and be agile enough to consider changing paths to follow your passion. That is all you need.

Can you answer where you will be in 5 years? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!