What are you doing with your life?

Post by **Foo** » Fri Jun 01, 2007 3:09 pm

So how many people here have a game plan for their life goals? I just turned 24, and I'm only now starting to get set on an idea about what direction I want to take things in. So I'm curious as to whether I'm exceptionally late or if this is normal.

Since I'm already through education I feel a bit like I'm leaving it too late, as a number of important decisions have come and gone already. But then again, it's better to have a plan eventually than no plan at all, so it's still a relief to be getting away from the 'I have no fucking idea what I want to do with my life' feeling.

How about you? Set plan, no plan, making plans, haven't even considered it?

Post by **Doombrain** » Fri Jun 01, 2007 3:11 pm

the 5 year thing? i don't really see the point. the only plan i really wanted to complete was buying a house and moving away from shropshire.

Post by **werldhed** » Fri Jun 01, 2007 3:12 pm

What sort of plan do you mean? Career plan? Things to do before you die? Philosophical goals?

I've got a plan, but much of it hinges on where my gf and I can get jobs.

Post by **Foo** » Fri Jun 01, 2007 3:13 pm

Whats the 5-year thing?

Post by **Doombrain** » Fri Jun 01, 2007 3:14 pm

the five year plan. it's a standard "life plan" time. you've never been asked in a interview where you think you'll be in five years?

an ex of mine was mad for life plans, might be the reason i left her.

Post by **+JuggerNaut+** » Fri Jun 01, 2007 3:15 pm

Foo wrote:Whats the 5-year thing?

I lose, you win
I lose, you win
I lose, you win
I lose again
But you're on my five-year plan
Your time will come
When you least expect it, expect it!
The five-year plan
You fucked me over
You did me wrong
You know why
I wrote this song
The five-year plan
Until the, I'll just pretend
That you are still my friend
But in the end, your time will come
When you least expect it, expect it!
The five-year plan
I don't forget so easily
No, I'm not so quick to forget
The five-year plan
I hold a grudge
I live for revenge
The five-year plan
I win, you lose
I win, you lose
I win!

Post by **Foo** » Fri Jun 01, 2007 3:17 pm

werldhed wrote:What sort of plan do you mean? Career plan? Things to do before you die? Philosophical goals?

I've got a plan, but much of it hinges on where my gf and I can get jobs.

Yeah all of those. And who/what/where you want to be when you retire/die, I suppose.

I mean you can just head through life just letting things develop on their own and do alright, or you can say something like 'right, when I'm 65 I want to have a wife and 3 kids (grown up), a large house in France, have worked a successful career as a mechanical engineer, started a succesful consulting business, and be living off the combined output of a private pension and investment returns'.

Of course it could be a completely different goal, in less or more detail, but that kind of idea. Up until about a year ago I really had no idea on where I wanted to head with things, which leads to making some generic safe choices in things instead of more specific guided moves that can get closer to a specific goal.

Post by **Foo** » Fri Jun 01, 2007 3:19 pm

Doombrain wrote:the five year plan. it's a standard "life plan" time. you've never been asked in a interview where you think you'll be in five years?

an ex of mine was mad for life plans, might be the reason i left her.

Oh that yeah. I didn't really think of those, but whenever I get asked I lie to conform to whatever they want to hear... gets me the job.

God I hate job interviews, so much bullshit.

Post by **HM-PuFFNSTuFF** » Fri Jun 01, 2007 3:22 pm

Five-Year Plans for the National Economy of the USSR (Russian: пятилетка, Piatiletka) were a series of nation-wide centralized exercises in rapid economic development in the Soviet Union. The plans were developed by the Gosplan based on the Theory of Productive Forces that was part of the general guidelines of the Communist Party for economic development. Fulfilling the plan became the watchword of Soviet bureaucracy. (See Overview of the Soviet economic planning process)

The same method of planning was also adopted by most other communist states, including India's pro-Soviet government and the People's Republic of China in the 1950–60s. In addition, several capitalist states have emulated the concept of central planning, though in the context of a market economy, by setting integrated economic goals for a finite period of time. Thus are found "Seven-year Plans" and "Twelve-Year Plans".

just an FYI

As for the topic, foo if you know what you want to do with your life at 24 then you are LUCKY.

What am I doing with my life? I'm trying to enjoy it and not fuck things up too terribly.

Post by **Ryoki** » Fri Jun 01, 2007 3:27 pm

I never really had any plans at all tbh. I always sort of looked at the coming week and that was it. But the last couple of months maybe, i've started thinking about the future more serious... where i want to be etc. I started out with the whole 'creative job that makes me happy, marriage to the missus, house in the sticks, kids, two cats and a dog' thing, but after a while reality set in and i started focusing more on long term survival in the coming zombie apocalypse.

Post by **GONNAFISTYA** » Fri Jun 01, 2007 3:27 pm

Five year plans are for fagg0ts, corporate profit predictions and spelling bee participants.

You can make the most detailed, well-thought-out plan in the universe and get smacked by a bus taking out the garbage.

Deal with each situation (and STD) that life throws at you as it comes. If you worry too much about what's gonna happen in five years you have too much time to think.

Post by **Doombrain** » Fri Jun 01, 2007 3:27 pm

Foo wrote:
Doombrain wrote:the five year plan. it's a standard "life plan" time. you've never been asked in a interview where you think you'll be in five years?

an ex of mine was mad for life plans, might be the reason i left her.
Oh that yeah. I didn't really think of those, but whenever I get asked I lie to conform to whatever they want to hear... gets me the job.

God I hate job interviews, so much bullshit.

When I did my psychometrics for this job I spent a day locked in a tiny, hot room and answered questions like "do you smash things?", have you or have you ever thought of harming people around you?" and "have you ever smashed things?".

Post by **plained** » Fri Jun 01, 2007 3:28 pm

i plan to make a plan!

Post by **Foo** » Fri Jun 01, 2007 3:31 pm

Doombrain wrote:When I did my psychometrics for this job I spent a day locked in a tiny, hot room and answered questions like "do you smash things?", have you or have you ever thought of harming people around you?" and "have you ever smashed things?".

LOL.

My interview for my current place was supposed to include that test but at the last minute the HR drone showed up and said that the company that supplies them hadn't delivered any.

I can't believe I accepted this position. So naive. There was so much evidence in plain sight that the entire company was whack.

Post by **Doombrain** » Fri Jun 01, 2007 3:34 pm

Foo wrote:
Doombrain wrote:When I did my psychometrics for this job I spent a day locked in a tiny, hot room and answered questions like "do you smash things?", have you or have you ever thought of harming people around you?" and "have you ever smashed things?".
LOL.

My interview for my current place was supposed to include that test but at the last minute the HR drone showed up and said that the company that supplies them hadn't delivered any.

I can't believe I accepted this position. So naive. There was so much evidence in plain sight that the entire company was whack.

Don’t let one bad experience get you down. There are plenty of well establish companies that value their employees. I’m sure you’ll find one and love working for them.

Post by **plained** » Fri Jun 01, 2007 3:35 pm

Post by **Foo** » Fri Jun 01, 2007 3:38 pm

Doombrain wrote:Don’t let one bad experience get you down. There are plenty of well establish companies that value their employees. I’m sure you’ll find one and love working for them.

Thanks man. The main reason I bailed was to stop myself getting too bitter. I'm actually looking forwards to finding an interesting position with another firm.

Post by **bitWISE** » Fri Jun 01, 2007 3:51 pm

Buy a house, get married, have a kid or two, make lots of money...Nothing unusual.

Post by **Tormentius** » Fri Jun 01, 2007 3:57 pm

I have a rough idea of career goals, travelling to do, and the usual stuff (houses, properties, etc). As for my defined "plan" its to be the best dad I possibly can be and do well by my family, friends, and colleagues.

Post by **4days** » Fri Jun 01, 2007 4:01 pm

HM-PuFFNSTuFF wrote:As for the topic, foo if you know what you want to do with your life at 24 then you are LUCKY.

What am I doing with my life? I'm trying to enjoy it and not fuck things up too terribly.

aye to both of those and what DB said.

just dossed about and got wasted until i was 21/22, then when all the fun started to go out of that i knuckled down and started learning/working. did stuff at a couple of corps that could've looked after me till retirement if i'd wanted to stay - but i never liked the idea of helping to make peoples lives miserable (which is what both of those corps did) so started a little company instead. i couldn't go back now - but i do miss the star-trekky management structure.

plan B now is to secure enough cash to make life after 40 an easy thing - and to do it without fucking anyone over.

plan A is to ensure my long-term survival during the coming zombie apocalypse.

Post by **R00k** » Fri Jun 01, 2007 4:03 pm

In my view, a long-term plan for the future is just a fluid image to keep in the back of my mind. When a decision arises that might help or hinder that picture, I act on it.

Otherwise, I don't normally think about it too much. Just work towards being economically stable. I'm already happy, so the money part is the next hurdle in the journey.

I'd like to have enough money to retire or stop working at 45 or so. If I can do that and still raise a family in the meantime, I won't care about anything else.

Then, just spend the rest of my life traveling. Reading, writing, some photography, still seeing and trying new things.

What else is there?

I guess what I'm trying to say, is that you don't really have to have very specific goals in mind for your long term future, in order for your life to turn out the way you want it to. Most of the goals you make at 24 are going to change several times anyway (unless you're one of the 5% of people whose don't, like olympic gymnasts and Cesar Milan), so don't get too hung up on them.

Just focus on the now and the short-term, but as soon as you can, you should start stashing money in something like a 401k plan. It can't be overstated what a difference it makes to start doing this early.

Post by **inolen** » Fri Jun 01, 2007 4:20 pm

Currently my plan is:

Get off probation within the next year
Move to Texas and buy a house

What I spend on rent in LA could pay a mortgage on a nice 200k house in Austin or Dallas :icon33:

Post by **Nightshade** » Fri Jun 01, 2007 4:32 pm

I have only rough plans, nothing too detailed because as the fat Canadian said they won't remain intact. Just working atm while the wife finishes school, trying to get into a job I'll enjoy more as she gets her career started. My big dilemma is whether I move us up north now or after I go to grad school. I'd like to not work while doing my master's, undergrad while working full-time sucked hog balls.
As for longer term, I'd like to start my own business, write, and possibly teach high school math and electronics.

Post by **scared?** » Fri Jun 01, 2007 4:43 pm

my game plan? chill until i die...jellus?...

Post by **plained** » Fri Jun 01, 2007 4:48 pm