It seems that a lot of people I talk to have goals that fall into one of two areas.

1.    They want to improve their health, either by losing weight, eliminating a chronic condition, managing symptoms that accompany aging, or increasing their energy levels.

2.   They want something that involves more money than they have right now.  They want to get out of debt.  Travel.  Pay for their children’s university education.  Fire their boss.

And it’s amazing how many people say “If I had only known then what I know now.”

Did you watch The Office (U.S. version) when Steve Carrell played Michael Scott, that bumbling, inappropriate but pitiable fool who somehow kept the office stumbling forward?

In one episode, he received a call from a school to call in a promise he had made 10 years ago.

He made a promise to a third-grade class that if they would graduate, he would pay for their college tuition.  Ten years later, the school invited him to visit that class, now Grade 12.  Of course, he’s in no financial position to make good on this promise.  Reluctantly, and somewhat fearfully, he visits the class on the assigned day.  He plans on coming clean right away, but he isn’t given the chance.  He’s ushered into the classroom where the teacher announces the transformational nature of that promise – – student retention was way up, and this class would have the highest percentage of graduates in the school’s history.

Then he is forced to listen to presentations and thank-you’s from the students as they share their heartfelt personal stories of how knowing they would be going to college changed their entire academic outlook and gave them hope for the future.

And then he addresses the class and has to confess the truth:  He can’t afford to send even one of them to college.

The scene is horrible to watch.  As you might imagine, reactions include disbelief, anger, tears, betrayal, dashed hopes, and so on.

Outside the school, a student confronts him and demands to know why he made such a promise.

Sheepishly, Michael Scott admits “I thought I’d be a millionaire by now.”

This scene highlights what a pathetic, contemptible, and rather stupid person Michael Scott is.  First of all, why did he assume 10 years ago that he would be a millionaire by the time the class graduated?  Upon what did he base this prediction other than his supreme ego?  Second, what kind of person makes such a promise to hopeful young children without solid proof that this promise could be kept?

However, I think many viewers squirmed inwardly.

I will confess that when I turned 40, I was secretly disappointed.  I didn’t tell anyone this, but when I was 30, I assumed that when I was 40, I’d be much better off financially than I actually was.  Yes, I was better off than when I was 30, but I thought I’d be WAY better off.  I also thought that those pesky extra 10 pounds I carried when I was 30 would be long gone.  What a horror that they actually blossomed into a 40 extra pounds!

And my 40 year old self had only to look in the mirror to see what went wrong.  I remember wishing I could go back in time and tell my 30 year old self that ten years really wasn’t as long of a time as I thought.  I wanted to tell myself to pursue my career with more diligence.  Save money.  Stop squandering on things that really don’t bring value and joy to life.  And for God’s sake, enough with the stopping and starting those diets and exercise programs – just make small changes and keep them for life.

Now, a little older, wealthier, and wiser in my early 50’s, I’m looking forward to the next ten years.  I know they’ll pass even more swiftly than the previous ten.  The years are going to pass anyway, so I might as well use them to create the life I want to have ten years from now.

Ah, if only we knew then what we know now!  But since that’s an impossibility, the better question would be to ask ourselves what we want.  And after we’ve answered that question, we need to ask ourselves would we rather just wish for it and not have it 10 years from now, or do we want to make sure we WILL have it ten years from now?