Look out Im writing on back to back days but I have felt the need to write more and want to work on it as I am working on a book and writing helps the mind think. I am still going to sit down tonight and get the book report out but something else got my brain going this morning and has me just storming inside and I want to get it on “paper” so one I can better understand what it is my brain is saying and two because I think its something that will benefits others.

Next week is Thanksgiving and this is the time of year we all sit down and try to write down or visualize the answer we will give when the what are you thankful for question hits your seat at the table. Family, job, or the good Ole reliable another year alive speech will come out. The real question though is how thankful are we really. I guess I would like to stop and think for a moment about a normal day.

How often do you get upset at where you are in life? What is going on, how much is in your bank account, how big is your house? All these things cause many of us to loss sleep and even put ourselves into a health situation. We worry and fret over where we are in life. I have a solution for you something that if your married I would love for you to stop and spend a few minutes with your spouse to discuss.

I want you to have the reverse 5/10/15 year plan discussion. I want you to take yourselves back however many years and ask yourselves if 10 yeara ago these things would have been something you would sign up for. Now I am going to use me and my wife as examples as we have had this talk so I know what the answers are. I am also going to say 16 years because thats how long we have been married.

First on the list is children. If you could go back 16 years and tell yourself you would have 4 health children, regardless of gender or order, would that fulfill your 15 year plan? If you could spend many of your afternoons, evenings and weekends watching your favorite athletes play a sport they loved would that make your 15 year plan happy? If you could look at 12 years worth of photos of adventure and unplanned chaos with little mini mes causing the most outrageous things to happen would that make your 15 year plan checklist?

Second is marriage. If I were to tell you that for the next 16 years you would never have a single episode of cheating, a single act of disloyalty, or even a huge drama related incident. Would that be on your 15 year goal achievement list. If I was to tell you that after 16 years you will still find plenty of times to do (as my son so graciously nicknamed it) “married stuff”. Side note my son has no clue what he is naming as married stuff he just knows that when mommy and daddy close and lock the door he is not to knock on it or try and break in because we are not available and not taking questions at that time. Be he did start calling that time when he cant bother us the time we are doing “married stuff” Just so y’all don’t think my 6 year old knows what we are doing he just knows its not his time its married people time. If you could mark this on your 15 year plan would you be happy that your still finding time to love each other as much as you do?

The third thing we looked at is belongings. Would the fact that you own the house you picked out as yours satisfy your 15 year plan. Would your furniture make the person you were 15 years ago happy? How about the car you drive would the person you were even 5 years ago be happy with where you are today.

Last and especially not the least is your spiritual journey. What was your goal in your own life and where are you now in that journey. Would the person who wrote your 15 year plan be happy with where you are spiritually? Would that person be happy with the church you attend, the people you’ve surrounded yourself with or the life your living?

We as people get so caught up in the next thing we forget to look back and see that for most of us we have accomplished the goals we set for ourselves realistically in the past 5/10/15 years. Im not saying we have all accomplished all the goals we had for ourselves because 15 years ago I would have set the goal to retire from the Marine Corps, 5 years ago I would have set the goal to grow my company to the point I could hire more mechanics and be buying land and building a shop of my dreams. Life changes around us so we adapt and overcome. This is not a failed goal but a changed one.

I challenge all of you to just look back at what old you would say about current you and give thanks for how far you have come. I am not saying you shouldn’t make more goals as I am working now on the goals for my 2026 in my head already and its funny my 2025 goals are so changed from what I envisioned originally but we will see how many I accomplished next month when I open up my 2025 goals envelope with my family. I also have 5 year goals I am currently working on and trying to accomplish. Goals are great to have but its also good to look back and recognize the accomplishments and the journey you have been through.