Dysphoric, keeping things short term is a great idea......I suppose I never looked at it that way. I'm always planning three steps ahead to "make sure" it works out.

I'm going to give your approach some thought - it sounds a lot more reasonable and a bit balanced. Right now, I'm talking about a "two year plan" with my wife - where we'll be, where I'll be with my career, where the kids will be in school, and how it all inter-connects. I get concerned that if I don't push the envelope and literally force the change I want, it never happens.

But maybe, as you suggest, that's just too far ahead. I think you're right about that.