Where Do You See Yourself in 5 Years?
If you’ve ever applied for a job or to multiple universities, I’m sure you’ve been asked this question:
Where do you see yourself in the next 5 years?
I hated this question when I was applying to schools and even when I was asked at some of my job interviews.
Namely because, I didn’t have the slightest idea of how to answer it.
I couldn’t help but think, how in the world am I supposed to know the answer to this question!? All I know is what I am planning for right now and that is for you to hire me.
But I also think there is another factor that we are hindered by when we are asked this type of question.
I think we are hindered, to different levels of degrees by, restrictions.
What I mean is, when we are asked these questions we often feel restricted because we want to give the interviewer (manager, university, etc.) the answer they want to hear. Maybe we feel like we should say that we plan to go back to school, get our Master’s degree, and grow professionally when really what we want to do is start a family. Or maybe we want to say that, “In 5 years, I plan to have grown enough professionally to be able to break off and start my own company so that I can be at home more and do what I love to do.”
But who really has the nerve to say that in an interview?
I think we are also hindered by self-doubt.
Minus the fact that we aren’t totally sure if our real dreams and desires are what this interviewer wants to hear about, I think the other reason why we struggle so much to answer this question is because we aren’t really sure if we can actually see our dreams coming true in 5 years either. We doubt our dreams so we are afraid to speak them.
And I think these hindrances tend to drip over into the way we actually think about our dreams and our 5 year plans. We tend to not actually believe they’re possible. Or we tend to restrict our dreams and conform them into what others tell us is appropriate.
We let society tell us how to dream and how to live.
So my challenge for you right now, regardless of how old you are or where you find yourself in life, is to honestly answer this question for yourself:
Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
Where do you actually want to be in five years? Why do you want to get there? Do you actually believe you can get there?
And if not 5 years, maybe just a year? Maybe just tomorrow.
And then I want you to plan and pray over exactly that. And watch how God works.
We are called, as Christ followers, to continue to grow on this journey. And to continue to do the good works He has set before us.
Let us not stop because we feel restricted or are overwhelmed by doubt. Our God is much bigger than that.
“For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
-2 Peter 5–8
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