The Benefits of Being Sidewardly Mobile

Seems like everyone’s goal in life is to “get ahead” – I’m no exception. Instead of achieving this on a task by task basis (i.e. complete school, then form familial unit, then forward career, then pay down mortgage) I’m going for it all concurrently. The ultimate multi-task.

If I were to plot the trajectory on a graph it would not be so much upwardly as it would be sidewardly at a slight incline. The perceived benefit to working in this way is that at some point in the future all of the goals will suddenly fall into place like a domino cascade: PhD, mortgage-free, well-adjusted relationship, financially viable art career.
The disadvantage is that it can be frustrating for the impatient – having to maintain advancement in so many categories means movement in any of them is excruciatingly s-l-o-o-o-w (like setting up aforementioned domino cascade). And if you get overwhelmed by multi-tasking, forget it.
I wouldn’t say being sidewardly mobile is better than being upwardly mobile, though I’m hoping it allows an equal advance in life, education and career (without having to sacrifice too much in any one area, that is).

Overly ambitious and optimistic? You betcha.