Why yes, I do have a(n)
Life plan
15(4.2%)
Ambition
27(7.6%)
Organizing principle
18(5.1%)
Mission
12(3.4%)
Destiny
11(3.1%)
Goal
31(8.7%)
Dream
40(11.2%)
Quest
7(2.0%)
Purpose
23(6.5%)
Hope
41(11.5%)
Wish
29(8.1%)
Wish list
27(7.6%)
Bucket list (before I die I'd like to...)
15(4.2%)
Desire
31(8.7%)
Vague yearning for purpose
29(8.1%)
I maintain the following to keep track of my progress toward my goals:
A daily to-do list
11(6.4%)
A weekly to-do list
4(2.3%)
A to-do list that I update at irregular intervals
36(20.8%)
A electronic calendar
23(13.3%)
A paper calendar
15(8.7%)
A giant stone calendar like the Mayans, plus a jackhammer to cross off days
1(0.6%)
A journal where I periodically review my course
23(13.3%)
An annual review
12(6.9%)
A five-year plan
5(2.9%)
A ten-year plan
2(1.2%)
Some other form of list, schedule, calendar, or reminder, which I'll explain in comments
7(4.0%)
No form of list, schedule, calendar, or reminder
17(9.8%)
I have a list/calendar but I never update it
6(3.5%)
I have seventeen different DayTimers, PDAs, Google calendars, and Palm Pilots, plus the back of an envelope
9(5.2%)
I would update my calendar but I can't find my pen/stylus/jackhammer
2(1.2%)
I shape my life around
A prudent plan encompassing career, family, health, and fiscal goals
16(7.0%)
Whatever comes next
42(18.3%)
My family's traditional pattern of education, marriage, and career
1(0.4%)
A combination of hopeless wishes and shattered dreams
19(8.3%)
God's plan for my life
7(3.1%)
Nothing, it just happens
12(5.2%)
Months or years of drifting until I crash into something worth doing
20(8.7%)
Months or years of drifting until I crash and everything explodes
6(2.6%)
God is hammering me out on an anvil of pain
7(3.1%)
Momentary amusements staving off the next five seconds
13(5.7%)
Complying with other people's expectations
15(6.6%)
Defying other people's expectations
17(7.4%)
Getting enough sleep, sex, food, and mindaltering substances. Plus bowling.
16(7.0%)
Maximizing utility and minimizing suffering
21(9.2%)
Something else, which I'll discuss in comments
17(7.4%)
My top priority is
My family
12(16.9%)
My career
1(1.4%)
Creative self-expression
7(9.9%)
My religion
2(2.8%)
Getting through the next five minutes
2(2.8%)
Revenge
0(0.0%)
Living a balanced life
21(29.6%)
Whatever's on fire at the moment
6(8.5%)
Maintaining a good relationship with my partner
1(1.4%)
Taking care of my health
3(4.2%)
Avoiding pain at all costs
0(0.0%)
Gaining fame, power, or money
1(1.4%)
Avoiding ever having to think
0(0.0%)
Avoiding ever having to feel
0(0.0%)
Something else, which I'll discuss in comments
15(21.1%)
Over the years, my life has been
A steady course of hard work, good judgment, and reasonable success
14(5.4%)
Maybe not so steady as all that, but I learned from my mistakes, and I'm pleased with my life
31(11.9%)
A hot mess
8(3.1%)
Bouncing from disaster to catastrophe like a kangaroo on steroids
11(4.2%)
So much better than anyone could have predicted
16(6.1%)
A decline from early promise to mid-life failure
14(5.4%)
A series of explorations leading to a unique path in life
31(11.9%)
A spiral where I keep fighting the same battles on a higher level
18(6.9%)
More ups than downs
26(10.0%)
More downs than ups
5(1.9%)
Success in some areas, failure in others
36(13.8%)
Success in some areas, failure in the one thing I most wanted
7(2.7%)
A stream of misery occasionally drying to a trickle of despair
1(0.4%)
Hard to tell, it's not done yet
40(15.3%)
Something else, which I'll explain in comments
3(1.1%)
What I want most is
Money
7(2.7%)
Power
2(0.8%)
Respect
20(7.8%)
Love
41(16.0%)
Acceptance
22(8.6%)
Peace
33(12.9%)
Justice
15(5.9%)
Pleasure
19(7.4%)
Revenge
1(0.4%)
Security
16(6.2%)
Freedom
24(9.4%)
Oblivion
2(0.8%)
Beauty
12(4.7%)
Enlightenment
22(8.6%)
Something else, which I'll explain in comments
20(7.8%)
Ticky?
Ticky has a plan for your life.
15(17.2%)
Ticky needs a better box to keep up with the Radio-Buttonses.
9(10.3%)
Ticky doesn't fit in conventional boxes.
37(42.5%)
That's Dr. Ticky, thank you.
26(29.9%)
As usual, please feel free to discuss the poll or your answers in comments.