At various points in our lives, we pause to wonder if we're on the right path. Are we making progress toward goals that truly matter to us? Are we spending our time wisely? These questions become particularly pressing during transitions—starting a new job, considering a career change, or simply feeling uncertain about our direction.
Traditional approaches to these questions often involve projecting forward: "Where do you see yourself in five or ten years?" But this forward-looking method has inherent limitations. Life is unpredictable. Events, people, and circumstances arise that we cannot foresee. Moreover, we ourselves change over time, learning and growing into someone different than who we are today.
In this paper, I present an approach to thinking about your choices and direction—one that has proven effective for me and numerous colleagues and students over the past three decades. Rather than trying to predict the future, this method asks you to imagine looking back on it.
Before diving into goal-setting, you need to understand your personal foundation. What are the values and principles that truly matter to you? These might relate to character traits you want to embody—kindness, generosity, or integrity. They could involve family, faith, success, or personal growth. Some people value recognition or financial achievement, while others prioritize service or creativity.
These values serve as your "ground truths"—the consistent elements that should guide your decisions regardless of changing circumstances. Take time to identify what really matters to you, as these values should inform everything that follows.
Here's where this method diverges from conventional planning. Instead of asking, "What do I want to do next?" or "Where do I want to be in ten years?", imagine yourself 10 to 12 years in the future, looking back over that span of time.
From this future vantage point, ask yourself: - What am I glad that I did? - What am I proud to have accomplished? - How did I spend my time in ways that feel meaningful and worthwhile?
This perspective shift is powerful because it focuses on accomplishments and experiences rather than positions or circumstances. It encourages you to think about what you want to have done, not where you want to be. Few of us can accurately predict where life will take us, but we can certainly shape what we try to accomplish along that path!
Start drafting a list of 8 to 12 items—things you would want to look back on with pride and satisfaction. Keep the list manageable; if you find it difficult to narrow down, consider splitting it into personal and professional categories. However, even if you have two lists, keep them concise.
Your goals might range from the simple to the ambitious:
Include at least one or two "stretch goals"—achievements that seem challenging but not impossible from your current perspective. These shouldn't be impossible goals (such as learning to levitate), but rather ambitious yet achievable objectives (such as getting a pilot's license or becoming fluent in a foreign language). However, don't go overboard and make the majority of your goals "stretch"!
Don't be in a rush to finalize your list. Spend days or, if necessary, weeks thinking about it. Let ideas percolate, and revise your list as needed. If you want to bounce some of your ideas off others, you can. But note that your list isn't something you necessarily need to share with anyone else—it's your personal roadmap.
Ensure each item in your list aligns with your core values. You should feel genuinely excited about the prospect of achieving each goal and proud of the way you would accomplish them. The list should reflect what you truly want, not what others expect of you.
Once you've created your list, keep it somewhere you can reference easily. The list becomes your decision-making framework. When faced with choices—where to work, how to spend your time, what opportunities to pursue—consult your list.
If a choice would move you closer to accomplishing at least one of your goals, that's likely a good decision. If it would take you further away from any goals, you might want to reconsider. Many decisions won't directly impact your goals either way, and in those cases, rely on your values, opportunities, and other relevant factors.
The beauty of this system is that it becomes increasingly automatic. After using it consistently for a few years, making choices that align with your long-term vision becomes second nature.
Life changes, and so do we. If you consistently find yourself reluctant to make choices that would advance your goals, it might be time to revisit your list. Perhaps your interests have evolved, or circumstances have shifted your priorities. This is normal—update your list accordingly. Keep in mind your list is aspirational goal-setting, not a binding contract.
After 10 to 12 years (or once you have achieved every goal in the list), take time to reflect on your progress. How many goals did you achieve? Which ones did you miss, and why? Celebrate your successes and learn from the gaps. If the process proved valuable, create a new list for the next decade of your life. If you didn't achieve some of your original goals, maybe it is because they need more time; include them in your new list, if so.
I have used this method four times over my career, achieving all or nearly all my goals in each cycle. My first list, created as a new assistant professor, included ambitious items such as achieving tenure, writing a book people wanted to read, and becoming a fellow of a professional society—all of which I accomplished within that 10-year window. Certainly, there was some luck involved, but I also know for certain it was because of some strategic choices based on my list.
Interestingly, I initially misplaced that first list after a few years but continued making decisions guided by the framework, which I had internalized. When I rediscovered the list eleven years later, I was pleasantly surprised to find I'd achieved all ten items, despite significant career changes (including a shift in research focus from software engineering to cybersecurity that I hadn't anticipated).
Colleagues and former students who have tried this method have consistently reported finding it useful for structuring their decisions and planning their futures. No one has reported regretting having tried it.
This method addresses a fundamental truth: we don't get our time back to do over. The years pass more quickly than we anticipate, and we rarely get do-overs on major life decisions. By creating a framework for intentional decision-making, you increase the likelihood of spending your time on things you'll ultimately value.
Even if you don't achieve every goal on your list, you'll have been working toward objectives you set for yourself—things you genuinely wanted to accomplish. This sense of intentionality and direction can make the journey itself more fulfilling.
The method is straightforward but requires thoughtful engagement:
The years will pass regardless of whether you have a plan. The question is whether you'll look back with satisfaction at how you spent them. By thinking backward from your future self, identifying what truly matters to you, and using those insights to guide your choices, you can increase the likelihood of a life well-lived.
This isn't about perfection or rigid adherence to a predetermined path. It's about intentionality—making conscious choices that align with your deepest values and aspirations. Whether you achieve every goal or not, you'll have the satisfaction of knowing you aimed for things that mattered to you.
I formulated the approach described in this document in the late 1980s. It was informed, in part, by my reading from various sources and my own life experience to that point. I also had some timely input from Peter J. Denning in 1989 during one of his visits to Purdue University. I was a relatively new assistant professor at the time, and he was kind enough to spend some time with me discussing, among other things, his own career trajectory.