Your Future Self Will Change
Long-term plans are useful, but they should leave room for the person you will eventually become.
When we create a ten-year plan, we often imagine that the person making the plan today will be the same person executing it years from now.
But our priorities change. Our interests change. Our relationships change. Even our definition of success can change.
A goal that feels extremely important today may feel completely different five years from now. That does not mean the original goal was wrong. It means we evolved.
The solution is not to stop planning. It is to build flexible plans that provide direction without creating a prison.
Good long-term planning should create options. Savings, skills, relationships, and health can all give your future self more freedom to change direction.
Plan for the future, but leave enough space for your future self to surprise you.