I feel the same way Jilly. I want to set my bar high but not so high it's not realistic.

Since I hope to write everyday now, starting today, I'll take a leap and set a goal of one book a year, at least.

That is the only goal I can think of right now.

I just saw my amazon reviewer score is that much closer to my long-term goal of being in the top 1000 -

Top Reviewer Ranking: 1,290

Just had to say yay!

That is awesome news Jilly - one step at a time! Think each week about a fun thing you can review. It doesn't have to be complex. It can simply be something you love!

I start my senior year of college in a few weeks - goals come closer to you step by step!

I'm pretty good at making 1 year goals. 5 year goals, hmm..they are very vague. Sometimes, I think I set the bar too high (maybe they should be a 10 yr goal). I need to break them down and make some more of my 1 yr goals part of the groundwork for the larger goals.

I just thought of a good five year goal. I want to have the trailer house here as fixed up as free governmental grants can get me by then. So by 2017.

to Lisa Low carb,
When I saw the title 5 year planning,it struck me.You see .I live one Now at the time.Have no future plans ,the future does not exist ,it is an Illusion like the past.Yesterday in the world of international soccer,a young 23 year old player ,just
fell dead on the field.Luckely for him they were able to bring him back to life.I almost died twice in my life.So no more long
range plans for me. Living the Now,to me is the fartest ,I can foresee.

A simple buddhist named
loong

Loong -

It is certainly fine if you want to live on a day to day basis! Many of us want to work on projects like writing a novel, and that requires some planning It's fine to appreciate each day - and it's also fine to have a project that spans more than a day in length!

For example, people who are age 18 often think about college, and that requires planning.

So we are all at different stages.

Lyn -

The long term / 5 year goals aren't necessarily about achieving them. They're about choosing compass directions for your short term goals. That is, say you spend every Friday drinking at a bar. What goal would that be in service of? What priority? By having long term goals, you can help ensure that your shorter term activities are in service of those.

So it's fine if they are a high bar; they will keep getting adjusted over the years. Their most important attribute is they are a way to keep your short term goals and activities pointed in the right direction.

As an example, one of my long term goals is to have zero messages in my email backlog. That might never happen. But it helps me to know that my short term goal of catching all BellaOnline email up is in service of something important to me.

OK I'm taking a fresh look at my five year goals. They are -

BellaOnline < 30 empty sites
House organized
Native American wedding book complete
earn my bachelor's degree
earn $3000 from romance novel sales
do shoulder press yoga pose
body fat at 18%
play moonlight sonata on piano
play dueling banjos on guitar
have zero messages in backlog

All of these are feeling like great directions for me! The romance novel sales are on target. My body fat just went below 20%! My first five medieval novels are out. I'm finishing up my junior year of college.

Some are stalled - the piano and guitar - but I will make space for them as I get time. One step at a time!