On Five Year Plans
I turned 26 on November 7th.
I spent the day reading “The Silmarillion” and chasing waterfalls in Rivendell with A. As a Tolkien fangirl, getting to spend the day at the exact location that inspired the creation of my favorite fictional world was EVERYTHING!
The backdrop of majestic waterfalls, idyllic valleys and Swiss Alps was perfect to step into my late 20s. Apart from it being my birthday, November 7th was also the deadline of the first five year plan(FYP) I ever made. Back in 2017, in the third year of my Undergrad I was very confused about everything - life, friendships, career and desires. Without completely understanding who I was, I set out to define who I wanted to be in five years with a level of naiveite that I now find both adorable and hilarious.
The plan included points I have since abandoned like clearing UPSC and getting into the Indian Foreign Services; Points I have made considerable progress on like fostering a wholesome relationship with my parents and improving my fitness levels; Points which are WIP like ghostwriting a Nancy Drew book; And a lot of points which have just remained points on a page.
I’m no expert on this but I’m of the opinion that FYPs suck. They’re impractical because 2017 me could never have anticipated all the wonderful and not so wonderful ways that I would change as a person. Without factoring that in, my FYP became an artifact of my past self. Also five years is a troublesome timespan. It feels so far away in the start. And suddenly, one day, it starts feeling impossibly short.
Although, to be fair, the problem could have also been my execution.
FYPs demand rigor. Weekly, quarterly and yearly reviews. Constantly asking yourself ‘What did you get done today?’. And not resting till you reach the goals you’ve outlined for yourself. And I honestly didn’t do very much of that.
I initially set out to create the FYP because I wanted to break free of my default life script. One that I have seen my mom, sister and every other female member in my family follow - get financially stable, get married by 26 and have kids by 30. While there’s nothing wrong with this script, I knew in 2017 that this path wasn’t for me.
Running from my default life script was the singular lens through which I formulated my FYP. Most of the points specifically chosen to get me as far from that path as physically possible - including my then choice of career. As a result, I’m no longer on the default path but I have no clue where my life is headed. In retrospect, I see the problem with having a plan focused on running away from rather than toward something.
Learning from the colossal failure that was my first FYP, my focus now is to outline my vision for my life. Get a good directional sense of where I want to be headed before I set goals and make plans. And this time, I’m making a conscious effort to approach it from a point of excitement and abundance rather than fear and avoidance.
I’ll keep you posted on how it goes!
