One of the hardest questions for me to answer is, “Where you do you see yourself in 5/10/15 years?” I’ve been asked this during job interviews, blogging interviews, from friends, and from family. I understand the reason behind the inquiry; for employment, it’s a measure of your ability to see a big picture and to have some foresight into the future. For other interviews, they’re trying to see what goals and motivations move you. For friends and family, the question is more curiosity than anything, or simply because they’ve run out of things to talk about.
The problem is that the question for me is stupendously hard to answer; not so much because I don’t have any plans, but because the idea of a future for myself is so very hard to describe; more often than not, I simply lack the vocabulary to express exactly what’s in my head about where I want to be. I’m not talking about material or economic goals, but rather how I envision myself as a person.
KT Tunstall’s song, “Suddenly I See“, is probably the closest expression to describing what I really desire to be, way down in the cockles of my heart, the real motivation behind what I am and do. Despite the fact that she’s singing about a girl (probably a model or a celebrity), the sentiment is the same. When I think about how I interact at work or in my personal life, the image of the person that leaves a positive impression on everyone they meet; someone you just notice when they walk through the door, and who leaves you with more than you had before — that is what I envision for myself.
And everything around her is a silver pool of light
The people who surround her feel the benefit of it
It makes you calm
She holds you captivated in her palm — KT Tunstall
The big problem is how to do this, and the bigger problem is how to accomplish it in such a way that I won’t compromise my core values and strengths. I think I’m a rather nice guy most of the time, and I try my best to be sincere, genuine, and casual. I don’t have any desire to be mean, nasty, or snotty, nor to exert a personal impression on others through the blatant display of power, hubris, or disdain. Sure they’ll remember me, but not necessarily in the way I want. I also don’t want to be pandering, like a slimy salesperson, trying to get the buck no matter what (or who) he has to sleeze up to get it. I do have principles and prefer to keep calling my spades a shovel.
In a lot of ways, this is why I love interacting on the Internet, whether it be through my blog, website, Facebook, Twitter, or any other means. Throughout my life, I’ve met some awesome people. Through my travels, I’ve met tons more and am incredibly lucky to have tons of friends and family in an entirely different country, all of them great folk in their own right. Via the wires and fiber optic cables of the nets, I have already and hope to continue to meet many more.
Why is this important? Well, I don’t have a clear-cut plan on how to make myself someone that folks never forget or at least someone that leaves a positive influence on their lives, but I do know one thing — the more people I consider to be interesting, intelligent, engaging, and endearing that I surround myself with and interact with, the more I learn about what it means to be a good, decent, and dynamic personality.
Essentially, I’m learning about myself from a hand-picked section of humanity.
It’s hard to gauge how I’m doing or how far I have to go — the journey probably never ends. Well, no doubt a eulogy at my funeral might be a good indicator (or how many people show up), but right now I’d rather be kept guessing if that’s my only means of evaluation. I always like to think that I’m being as good and interesting as I can right now, but I also know I have much to learn and accomplish. I just hope to always have exposure to all the best that is available through you, dear readers, and the many other people in my life.
So, I guess the question of the day is — how do YOU make a positive influence on all you touch and everyone you meet?
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