Your response to this question may be to cringe or light up…it depends….
If someone had asked me this question five years ago I'm pretty sure that I wouldn't have been able to predict where I am now. It was just over five years ago that I opened "Stepping Stone Coaching & Consulting" for business!! Yes, I set goals and made plans and also, I let myself be open to the opportunities that came along. Some worked out, some didn't and this is the ebb and flow. The valleys make the peaks all the more amazing. So, if you are reading this and are a client or a previous client...thank you! I am blessed to do the work I do.
But back to my original question...where do you see yourself in five years? This was one of those typical interview questions that made me sweat. Why? Truthfully, I had no idea at all where I would be in five years. None. I couldn't "see" anything other than the insides of my eyelids when I tried to imagine it. I wonder if this question is still being asked....
What may be useful sometimes, is to look BACK five years and notice where you are now vs. then. Notice all the things that you did or didn't do that lead you to where you are now. A sum total of those decisions you have made. Happy with them? Great, you can keep doing what you're doing. Not so happy? Also great, you can decide to make some changes to get you closer to what you want.
So how does one go about doing this? Looking back isn't going to be helpful if there isn't a way to do it. Here I will make some suggestions for what you may want to look for. You're going to want to grab a piece of paper and something to write with while you do this.
Start by thinking of a particular situation that you would like to explore for this exercise - a goal you achieved - maybe it is the job you are in, a current relationship or a physical/health goal that you achieved. Pick one thing.
Behaviours - as you trace back through the past five years, what behaviours come to mind that you consistently did that lead you to be where you are now? Take a pause now and set a timer for a minimum of five minutes (7-10 is even better) and write whatever comes up as an answer to this question for you. The key here is to keep writing the entire time, don't let your pen leave the paper. If you don't know what to write then doodle or write "I don't know what to write" trust that your brain will give you something useful.
Skills, Strengths and Capabilities - check in with yourself and notice what comes to mind for you - what are the skills, strengths and capabilities you utilized that resulted in you being where you are now? Take a pause again, put pen or pencil to paper and explore for five to 10 minutes and see what surfaces for you.
Beliefs - what beliefs did you have about yourself, the world around you and the people in it that supported and shaped where you are now? Grab that paper again...you know the drill.
Identity - who were you as you did all of those behaviours, skills and had those beliefs? You may want to finish the sentence "I am a person who..." Take some time to write again.
What do you notice about how you achieved that goal? How can you use this information as you now look forward five years? What behaviours and beliefs will you keep? What other skills, strengths and capabilities would be helpful? What would you like to change?
