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200 words, Diana Schwenk, Diana's Enormous Book of Quotes, dreams, horizon, living in the moment, plan, The Future, The Present, vision
Perhaps he knew, as I did not, that the Earth was made round so that we would not see too far down the road. ~ Isak Dinesen
CALL ME A REBEL, a lunatic or a non-conformist, but I just don’t believe in 10 year plans. Humans are not wired to think that way. The most we can tactically plan for is a year, 18 months tops!
Over the years, it has been my experience that much of what we plan beyond the first year has to be revamped or scrapped altogether. That just makes me feel like I’m wasting my time. And I don’t like wasting my time!
We cannot know how the environment will change. Just look at the recession of ’07 as an example.
“But Diana, you’re always talking about vision and mission and dreams…”
Yes I am! My vision to ignite the power and passion in others, or my mission to relate with, promote and speak community do not, however, have mapped out tactical strategies for 2016, 2017, or 2024.
Who I am and what I do alerts me to opportunities that are present in the now and, no doubt, will shape my future.
~ HUMP DAY CHRONICLES ~
Share your thoughts below
talktodiana 
Much agreed – I did a post on my disdain for the always wonderful “What’s your 5 year plan?” job interview question. There’s something very unrealistic about planning that far in advance. It’s all about the here and now, baby, if that’s going well then your 10 year future will surely be okay! 😀
~Andrea<3
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Oh Andrea, I would love to hear more about that! You should do a post, you know, an executive summary of your disdain, maybe? 🙂
Diana xo
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It is all well and good for people to think they can create such a thing as a ten year plan, and some do succeed in doing so, but God only knows what can get thrown at you out of the blue. I have lived through several unexpected experiences that threatened to derail or did derail my plans completely.
Love the quote! xo
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Many do create 10-year plans. I’m never with it enough to check in 10 years later to see if it panned out as they planned. I kinda doubt it. But hey, I’ve been wrong before!
Yes, life is what happens while we’re making plans.
Diana xo
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Cheezy Expression Alert! Life is a gift..that’s why its called the Present!
I live for the moment, But I agree that having a plan.. a vision even helps quite a bit.
To quote another “Good” Book.. Where there is no vision, the people parish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.
I want to shape my future to so that I can live for my true pupose ( still figuring out that one) Thanks for all you wonderful inspiration!
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I love cheesy expressions Michael! Wishing you the best success in the future. May I suggest The Path by Laurie Beth Jones as a resource for you? She also penned Jesus CEO.
Diana xo
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In 1785 the poet Robert Burns wrote To A Mouse which contains the immortal lines, “The best-laid schemes o’ mice an’ men gang aft agley,” (…go often astray.) Centuries later an Engineer, named Murphy, described a fundamental law about the certainty of things going wrong.
There’s a difference between goals and plans. The latter “gang aft agley,” but our hopes and dreams and goals can be a light that always guides us onwards.
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Well said Smitty!
Diana xo
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I often try to envision future scenarios–though I recognize that they will need to be refined and changed over time.
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It is good to have vision Sheryl
Diana xo
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Diana, you are so wonderful. I can’t even to 10 minutes at the moment -keep changing my mind about goals etc. Am very teary today and not sure why! Anyway thanks for inspiring all of us with this thought-provoking post. Jx
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Hugs Julie!
Diana xo
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u2
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HHD.
I too agree with you.
Fab post.
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Thanks Gavin!
Diana xo
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A great post and I so agree with you
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Thank you Jo-Anne!
Diana xo
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Well said, Diana!
Russ
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Thank you Russ – I appreciate your support!
Diana xo
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Thanks Diana. I have so tried to plan and all the surprises get in the way. So just live each day and enjoy it.
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Yes, there’s something to be said for enjoying the moment right in the moment, isn’t there Dr. JC?
I don’t know very much about you, but from what I’ve read at your blog, you have vision and purpose and are living your vision, even without plans! I think that is what happens. A person envisions who they are, what they will be and with this vision in their sight they head in that direction.
Diana xo
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Thank. You. Diana! SO glad to know I’m not the only one who feels this way!!
All of these Life Coach/Planning People. Constantly giving this advice and that.
You’re a loser if you save things. No concern for the past. No regard for Nostalgia, Memory, History.
I am a person of the real Ontario. Grew up in the Countryside, surrounded by family farms with their centuries-old hand-built barn, milk house, drive shed, chicken coop… Many, but less so now, constructed – from the ground up – by that same family and run proudly for generations.
Troubles come and go; you deal with them as they appear; but there is one Rule that remains Constant:
To waste is a sin – to fix, divine; )
And be sure you make hay while the sun does shine; )
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Glad you liked the post Deb. I try to live in the present (I’m not always successful) but I never forget where I’ve come from (roots and tradition) and I dream of a better future.
It is clear you have had some struggles with coaches and that you’ve been hurt by that process. I’ve only had good experiences in that area. You should write a post about it. 🙂
I have never heard that saying you mention about waste and divine, I will have to chew on that one for a bit. As always, thanks for stopping by and sharing your thoughts Deb. ❤
Diana xo
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LOL, chew away… Most likely the reason you’ve never heard it before is because it’s my own little twist on the old “Waste not, want not.”; )
‘Cause, when you’re brought up in an environment where it’s all about self-sufficiency, frugality and innovation, everything you’ve bought is worth having and you:
“Use it Up. Wear it Out.
Make it Do, or Do Without!”
Can you imagine how “well-off” we’d all be if everyone took only what they need and leave the rest for (or give the rest to) someone else?
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My dad used to hammer old nails straight and re-use them!
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LOL, been there!! When I was a kid, my parents renovated an old house and that was (one of; ) my job(s).
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I’m a huge believer in one day at a time. An eye to the future, yes, but there are too many unknowns–good and/or bad. 🙂
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Having vision and dreams for the future is a good thing. (Without vision, my people perish) Planning it out step by step years into the future is futile. Just my opinion. 🙂
Diana xo
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Great post Diana. The danger always exists that we can concentrate so intently on our forward planning that we can miss the voice and the opportunity of the immediate. I learnt this the hard way, not that I live in regret but I am certainly more open to the present than the future.
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Thanks Don, thanks for sharing your experience in this area. In the end, I guess each of us has to decide what works for us individually and live with the consequence of that decision, right? As long as we learn from what we do, as you mentioned above, there is nothing to regret in a sense.
Diana xo
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PPS. And also LOVE the photo. Where did you get it?
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You know Elizabeth, I really should note the links when I share the pictures. I googled ‘beyond the horizon’ and it popped up. I will make an effort to note the source in the future.
Diana xo
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Ooh, you have hit a raw nerve here, Diana. My situation is different I suppose because I am not in the life where I want to be and I am going through a process that will take about three years to get me there. Having a vision for what life will be like in three years time is the drive that keeps me going. That vision affects many of my daily choices and decisions. Underneath that vision are goals for about a year, then tasks for a month / week etc.
However, there are other situations where a longer-than-one-year plan is ideal. I will give you a few examples:
How does one complete a four-year degree without a vision of seeing yourself as a doctor / lawyer / architect or whatever?
Why would you set up a business and invest capital in that business without a vision of it surviving five years?
Why would you embark on kitchen renovations if you did not know that you were planning to stay for at least two years?
How could I plan to visit my friend Diana in Calgary in 18 months time 🙂
PS. The quote is beautiful. Karen Blixen (Isak Dinesen’s) command of the English language was exceptional. I love the book where that quote is from (Out of Africa) and I love the movie. The story is so sad and yet she then went back to Denmark and began writing in earnest at age 49…a new life for her.
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Hugs to you Elizabeth, I did not mean to hit a raw nerve. I have a vision beyond 1 year too. It’s a picture of where I want to be. And like you it affects my decisions along the way. I have similar goals for a month, for a year, etc., and review and evaluate them as I go and set new ones.
Often we use words that mean different things to others. Words like vision, goals, strategies, objectives, tactics, etc. I have vision and just by virtue of picturing where I’m going gives me focus and intention. I also set short term goals that reflect how much money I need to make, how I will do that through marketing my services, etc., and I will review and evaluate my progress in a year and set new goals and tactics.
This post reflects my own experiences over the years with strategic plans that include high level details far into the future. The first year seems to work well and often even exceeds goals and in the evaluation of the past year new goals and strategies are made and often do not resemble the ones made 2 years ago.
Also, I am not saying I’m right. I could be wrong and I know that I am swimming against the current on this one. Maybe I haven’t been through a 10-year plan that is done correctly? Or had any vision beyond raising more money each year and seriously lacking in the reason why or what it would be supporting or what we would like at that time, etc. Know what I mean?
I do hope we meet one day in the future and then we can talk about these things in person. I am inspired by the process you have used to get through the last 2 years.
Diana xo
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Hello. I actually thought about your post again after I went to bed last night and realised that some turmoil I had been experiencing over the last few months was because I had been forming my 3 year vision and I wasn’t getting there and that was making me distressed in the here and now. I CRAVED the world of my vision and I was still stuck back trudging through mud. That “re-framing” of the getting-through-the-mud as steps towards the vision really helped me.
The flip side of it is that NOW I am focussing on those steps with a one year plan rather than the vision and the focussing on the steps is helping me tremendously. So this is a full circle turnaround of my thoughts over-night.
You are right. It is the words we use. The vision is for our hopes and dreams. Our strategies / plans / tactics is for the here and now. Bringing my vision to the here and now has been of real benefit to me. Ah! I have given away my next post now.
Thanks for your reply.
By the way, your reply to me was longer than your post 🙂
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(smiling) I limit my Sunday post to 200 words. I reserve the right to go beyond that in my comments. You are always so real with your comments and I wanted to pay you the same courtesy in a response. The truth is, anything I post is just my opinion and I realize I could be totally out to lunch! 😉
Diana xo
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I appreciate the full reply.
As I said, I see there are two sides now…or three maybe.
Yes, thoughts for another post.
🙂
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Now I can wait to read this post of yours!
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It will be in a week or two
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I too like how Val stated it — and you too Diana. Holding our intentions and vision — being responsive to the now — keeps us flexible and accepting of what is — not what we wanted to be.
Lovely reflections Diana. Thanks!
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Thanks Louise. Val does have a wonderful way of articulating this, doesn’t she?
Diana xo
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I do so agree with you… forward planning may have its advantages, but I’ve always found something will raise its ugly head to destroy any such plan. Take me at present for example, in last year we planned the trip to Etosha and the Kgalagardi Park in Botswana. Both have been put off the plan completely due to ill health on my behalf, can one foresee this? No… definitely not so how do we plan the year ahead? Tentatively, that if all is well at the time our plan will be followed, otherwise a more flexible approach needs to be undertaken… we made early bookings that could not be kept, but now have new dates that when nearer and it looks as though all will work out we will book and go… plan for today and let tomorrow show first its intentions before making plans for the future…
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I hope you feel better really soon and all is back to normal for you bulldog so that you can be about your travelling and sharing your journey through photography with the rest of us!
Diana xo
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I agree Diana! When we look back at the biggest achievements in our lives … the ones we feel proud of and grateful for … most of them were not part of any strategic plan.
Holding a vision and an intention for the future is worthwhile, and let us rise to the challenges and opportunities that unfold along the way.
🙂
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I love the way you put it Val: Holding a vision and an intention for the future is worthwhile, and let us rise to the challenges and opportunities that unfold along the way.
Thanks so much for chiming in Val!
Diana xo
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