A five year plan

The next step in Dan Zadra's book "5: Where will you be five years from today," is harder than a simple journalling exercise. The book's authors posit that my dreams may be translated into my goals, and my goals can then be transformed into a five year plan with actions in each of twelve domains - spokes on what they call the "Wheel of Life."

Balance in one's life calls for balance in the twelve domains, which include:
* Family * Spiritual * Relationships * Romance * Travel * Adventure * Charitable * Recreation * Education * Financial * Health * Career.

Two weeks ago I sat down, pencil in hand, and starting jotting down notes for where I wanted to be in five years in each of the twelve proposed spokes - twelve spokes that may - or may not - bear any direct or obvious relationship to one's goals or dreams.

This was hard. I started thinking about long term (e.g. ten years from now) versus short term (one year from now) goals. I started thinking about how much overlap there was between my spokes.

"Gah!" I thought. "The book is now insufficient for my reflections." So I drew the "Wheel of Life" on big paper. I mapped it out on a Power Point.

Then I took a break for week.

I came back to the exercise this afternoon - after President Obama's inaugural and in the middle of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

And I started to get unblocked.