Extra Innings

How Many Innings Do We Get?

a2z: the letter ‘I’

white lettering on brown brick
Do you have a life plan?
Do you know the answer to: Where do you see yourself in five years?
As I struggle to answer that question the years pile up behind me. In the game of life, I’m pretty sure I’m in Extra Innings. It may even be a twenty inning game.
baseball field with players
Despite having read many set your goal books the five year question can’t be answered. I can only trust that God knows what I’m going to be doing.
I can however look to the future and hope that I’m still selling books, that writing stories every day gets me out of bed and of course the goal I can’t seem to reach and stay–at my desirable weight–has been met. 
Desirable weight? Now that’s another blog post. Who sets that number anyway?
So tell me, have you answered the five year question? If you did, is it working out? Should I try harder to answer it? 


About Diana Brandmeyer

Christian author Diana Lesire Brandmeyer writes historical and contemporary romances set from the Midwest to the Mountains. She’s written Mind of Her Own, Frontier Legacy Brides, Small Town Brides, and A Time for Love, among others. Once widowed and now remarried she writes with humor and experience on the difficulty of joining two families be it fictional or real life. *affiliate links are used on this site. It won't cost you more but those extra pennies keep me stocked in tea, thank you!

16 comments / Add your comment below

  1. Hubby and I are all about the five-year plan. Not that we always accomplish stuff, of course. We've got some big changes coming up that require a new plan, which we're working on. It helps to remember that God is in control.

  2. I haven't thought about a five year goal EVER. I used to think about a book-at-a-time goal and actually strive to meet self-imposed deadlines. That became too stressful so I took the approach of “this book has its own schedule” … an advantage of being your own publisher and not having to meet someone else's deadline. Now I've digressed to, “Will this book idea ever be born? Will I live long enough to finish it?” Seems like once my husband retired from teaching in 1999 the more important goal is to enjoy each day. He's famous for saying, “I just take one day at a time.” That's his reply if I push for a plan and he's not buying into it! And that's okay with me.
    Donna Winters

    1. I understand his reason for one day at anime. My husband is much like that too. It dies make it harder to sit down and write. If I could write in the car I could get a lot done. He likes to drive. 🙂

  3. I never saw the need for a 5-year plan either… UNTIL….

    I saw the writing on the wall while in the corporate world. I was 49 years old and didn't know what I wanted to be when I grew up; but I did know what I wanted and did not want.

    So I wrote out that list. Little did I know three years later that list would come to life. What was on it? I didn't want to drive in the city for a job; I wanted to work from home, perhaps having my own business; plus a few other things all by the time I was 55 years old, which was this summer. Every single item on that list came true!! Every. Single. Item.

    So put your trust in God, the Universe, or whomever you see as Source, and write the I want/don't want list, putting a time limit on it. And then, sit back, relax and watch your manifestations and dreams comes true.

    Sounds crazy, yes? I used to think so.

  4. Diana –
    It is hard, isn't it. Life is so unpredictable, it is sometimes difficult to commit to five year goals. I read something once that recommended having a short list of lifetime goals, then planning backwards from there. It was more complicated than that, but it has done a lot to drive my goals in the past 8 years since I read it. I'll have to look it up and maybe do one of my posts with it in mind.

    1. Tia, I'd like to know more about that. I know one of the reasons I can't commit to the five year plan is because I lost my first husband. After that planning more that 48 hours seemed foolhardy. I have grown though and can plan a month in advance now. 🙂

  5. I just accomplished my goals from 5yrs. ago. I just realized:-) so thank you! I can be hard on myself that I'm not doing enough! Here's to writing down goals for the next 5yrs. Should you try harder? no. relax into the soft whispers of your heart and body:-)

  6. A 5 yr plan. Nope, not going to happen here. Tried doing that as a younger person and found out that life, at least my life just doesn't let that happen. I have dreams and goals but I know that it will be a winding road to those. And I'm ok with it, that is life.

  7. 5 years? I'm lucky to have a goal for today. I had a five year goal twenty years ago. LOL

    Diana…I left you a reply on my blog, but in case you don't see it… Watch the show. I didn't spoil it for you too much. 🙂

  8. I think I am in the process of trying to accomplish my “5 year goal”. I just graduated, and currently looking for a job. So, my 5 years isn't up yet, though it certainly feels like that.

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