A Life Worth Living: My 10-Year Vision (2026–2036)
Every now and then I find it helpful to stop thinking about the next week, the next project, or even the next year, and instead ask a much bigger question.
What kind of life am I actually trying to build?
Not what career I want.
Not how much money I hope to earn.
Not what other people might think looks successful.
But what kind of ordinary Tuesday I hope to wake up to ten years from now.
Because I have started to believe that success isn’t something we arrive at.
It is something we practise.
One decision at a time.
My North Star
Over the next decade I want to build a calm, meaningful life through counselling, thoughtful work, good health, strong relationships, creativity, and being the father Victor deserves.
I want enough freedom to choose how I spend my days.
To do work that genuinely improves people’s lives.
To remain curious.
To stay grounded.
And to become someone whose actions increasingly reflect his values.
Not chasing success.
Building a life worth living.
Living By Values Instead Of Outcomes
For much of my life I measured myself through outcomes.
Did I achieve enough?
Did I work hard enough?
Did people approve of me?
Did I make the right decision?
The problem is that so many of those things are outside my control.
People leave.
Plans change.
Businesses succeed—or they don’t.
Health changes.
Life refuses to follow a script.
The only thing I truly control is how I choose to respond.
Whether I act with honesty.
Whether I remain kind.
Whether I take responsibility.
Whether I continue showing up as the person I hope to become.
That feels like a far steadier foundation.
The Shift I Didn’t Expect
Looking back, I can see that I spent years trying to earn belonging.
Trying harder.
Learning more.
Improving myself.
Fixing every weakness I could find.
Much of that growth was worthwhile.
But there was also an assumption hiding underneath it all.
That if I became enough, I would finally deserve connection.
I no longer believe that.
Belonging that requires abandoning yourself is simply too expensive.
The relationships I want are built on honesty rather than performance.
Not becoming someone different.
Becoming more fully myself.
What Matters Most
If someone asked what I hope my life revolves around, my answer would be surprisingly simple.
Meaningful work.
Genuine connection.
Health.
Learning.
Creativity.
Family.
Freedom.
Simplicity.
None of those things require an extraordinary life.
Only an intentional one.
Becoming An Exceptional Counsellor
Counselling sits at the centre of the life I hope to build.
Not because I want to become an expert.
But because I never want to stop being a student.
I hope that over the next decade I become known less for techniques and more for presence.
For warmth.
For calmness.
For listening deeply.
For creating emotional safety.
Not because people think I’m clever.
Because they genuinely feel understood.
Building Work That Helps People
Alongside counselling, I hope to continue building websites and brands for therapists and other helping professionals.
Over time I have realised that I’m not really interested in selling websites.
I’m interested in helping people find clarity.
Helping them explain who they are.
Helping the right clients find them.
Technology will continue changing.
Artificial intelligence will continue changing.
But clarity will always matter.
If I can combine counselling, psychology, design, writing and technology into work that genuinely helps people, then that feels like meaningful work.
Continuing To Write
Writing has quietly become one of the most important parts of my life.
It helps me think.
It slows me down.
It allows vague thoughts to become clearer.
I hope I continue writing books, essays, articles and reflections for decades to come.
Not because I have all the answers.
Because writing keeps teaching me better questions.
The Father I Hope To Be
When I imagine looking back on my life, I doubt I’ll be thinking about websites, income or qualifications.
I’ll probably be thinking about Victor.
Whether I was present.
Whether I listened.
Whether I created adventures.
Whether he felt emotionally safe.
Whether he knew he could always come to me.
If, many years from now, he can honestly say:
Dad always made me feel safe to be myself.
Then very little else will matter by comparison.
Freedom Rather Than Wealth
Money matters.
But only because freedom matters.
I don’t dream about endless growth.
I dream about enough.
Enough income to choose meaningful work.
Enough stability to reduce stress.
Enough flexibility to spend time with family.
Enough security to keep learning and creating.
There is a quiet kind of wealth in simply having enough.
Relationships Built On Honesty
I no longer want relationships built on trying to impress each other.
I want relationships where two people can remain fully themselves.
Where curiosity is valued over certainty.
Where honesty matters more than performance.
Where both people continue growing without asking the other person to become someone different.
That feels far more sustainable than chasing excitement alone.
Looking After The Body That Carries Me
Every part of my future depends on my health.
Walking.
Strength training.
Healthy food.
Hiking.
Skating.
Good sleep.
Time outdoors.
These aren’t separate from my work.
They make the rest of my life possible.
Character Compounds
Every year I hope to ask myself the same simple questions.
Am I kinder?
Am I calmer?
Am I more curious?
Do I listen better?
Do people feel safe around me?
Am I living according to my values?
Achievements come and go.
Character stays.
Staying Curious
The older I become, the less interested I am in certainty.
I want to keep studying psychology, philosophy, neuroscience, attachment, trauma, literature and creativity.
Not to become the smartest person in the room.
To become a more understanding one.
Because every new perspective makes it a little easier to understand another human being.
A Quiet, Beautiful Life
The life I imagine isn’t particularly glamorous.
It’s wonderfully ordinary.
Waking early.
Walking Pixie.
Writing.
Seeing a few counselling clients.
Working on a website project.
Cooking dinner.
Reading before bed.
Weekends spent hiking.
Gardening.
Photography.
Taking the camper van somewhere peaceful.
Conversations with people I love.
Nothing dramatic.
Just a life that feels deeply aligned.
What Success Means To Me
If everything goes well over the next ten years, I hope to have built a respected counselling practice.
A sustainable creative business.
Several books I’m proud of.
Financial stability.
Good health.
Strong relationships.
A close relationship with Victor as an adult.
But even those things aren’t really the measure of success.
Success, for me, is becoming someone who no longer feels the need to constantly prove himself.
Someone who lives with honesty.
With curiosity.
With calmness.
With self-respect.
Someone whose life gradually becomes a reflection of his values rather than his fears.
If I can do that—one ordinary day at a time—I think I’ll have built exactly the life I was hoping for.