Lately, I’ve been spending a lot of time thinking about the next 10 years. Part of that is because I’ve been teaching my Design Your Next Decade™ workshop, but I think an even bigger part is that I’m going through this process myself.
My husband and I are thinking about where we want to live next. I’m building Emerge Positive® in a completely new way. I’m thinking about my health, my relationships, my work, the people I want around me and what I want this next chapter of my life to look like.
There are a lot of moving parts.
And like most people, when I think about the future, my mind naturally goes to the tangible things. Where will we live? What will my business look like? Where do I want to travel? What do I want to accomplish?
But recently I’ve realized there is another question underneath all of those questions that may actually be more important:
What do I want the next 10 years of my life to feel like?
That question changes things for me.
Because when I really think about it, I’m not just trying to create a certain house, business, income, body, relationship or lifestyle. I’m trying to create an experience of my life.
What Are You Really Trying to Create?
Think about something you want for your future and ask yourself why you want it.
Maybe you want to retire. Is it really retirement you want, or is it freedom?
Maybe you want to move somewhere new. Is it the new house you’re craving, or are you really looking for adventure, community, beauty or a different pace of life?
Maybe you want a new career, more money, better health, stronger relationships or more time for yourself. Those are all worthy goals, but underneath them is usually something deeper. There is a way you believe your life will feel once you get there.
Maybe you want to feel peaceful. Energized. Secure. Connected. Purposeful. Adventurous. Confident. Free.
For me, this has been a really interesting thing to think about because I have plenty of goals for the next decade. I want to grow Emerge Positive® into something much bigger than it is today. I want to travel. I want to move. I want to be healthy and strong. I want to continue growing spiritually. I want a great marriage, deep friendships and a strong sense of community around me.
But those are the things I want to do and create.
How do I want all of it to feel?
I want my life to feel expansive. I want to wake up excited about what I’m building without feeling consumed by it. I want time for my husband, my family and my friends. I want new experiences and adventure. I want to laugh a lot. I want to feel healthy, strong and comfortable in my body. And I want to feel like I’m really participating in my life instead of constantly rushing through today to get to whatever is coming next.
Most of all, I want to look back and feel like I used these years well.
That answer tells me far more about the life I’m trying to create than a traditional list of goals ever could.
Ten Years Is a Long Time…Until You Look Back
Think about yourself 10 years ago.
Where were you living? What were you worried about? What did you think your life would look like today?
I’m guessing a lot has happened that you never could have predicted.
You’ve probably changed too. Your priorities may be different. Your relationships may be different. Your body is different. What matters to you today may not be what mattered to you then.
And yet somehow, those 10 years went by incredibly fast.
That’s the part I find motivating.
Because the next 10 years are going to pass too.
We can’t control everything that will happen during them. Life will always bring unexpected turns, losses, opportunities, challenges and surprises. But I do believe we get to have a say in how we move through those years and what we intentionally create along the way.
And perhaps the first step is simply getting clear about what we actually want.
Not what we were supposed to want.
Not what made sense for us 10 or 20 years ago.
Not what everyone else thinks we should be doing at this stage of our lives.
What do you want now?
You Don’t Have to Have It All Figured Out
I think this is where many of us stop ourselves before we ever get started. We assume that if we don’t know exactly what we want the next chapter to look like, then we can’t really begin creating it.
But I don’t believe that anymore.
You don’t need a perfectly mapped-out 10-year plan. You don’t need to know exactly where you’ll live, what your career will look like or how every piece is going to come together.
Maybe you just need to start paying closer attention to yourself.
What do you want more of in your life? What are you ready to have less of? What feels important to you now that perhaps didn’t feel as important five or 10 years ago? And is there something you’ve quietly wanted for yourself that you keep pushing aside because it doesn’t feel practical, responsible or like the “right” time?
Then ask yourself the bigger question:
How do I Want the Next 10 Years of My Life to Feel?
Sit with that for a while.
Because once you know how you want your life to feel, you can start looking at the choices you’re making today through a completely different lens.
Does this move me toward that life…or away from it?
Do I want to keep saying yes to this?
Is this still important to me?
Does the life I’m creating today actually match the woman I’m becoming?
You don’t have to change everything overnight. In fact, you probably shouldn’t.
But you can begin.
And perhaps that is what designing your next decade is really about. Not predicting exactly what your future will look like, but becoming intentional about how you want to live it.
How Do You Want the Next 10 Years of Your Life to Feel?
So this week, I invite you to think about one question:
What do you want the next 10 years of your life to feel like?
Your answer may tell you more than you expect.
Positively,
Deanne
P.S. If this question stirred something in you and you’re ready to be more intentional about what comes next, I’d love to invite you to join me inside Beyond by Emerge Positive™. It’s a community for women who are ready to grow, reflect, and create their next chapter with more clarity and confidence. You can learn more and join us here.
