Everyone is trying to figure out that balance.
Short-term feels good. It’s a quick win. It doesn’t require much patience or consistency. It doesn’t require a vision. It also has a much smaller impact.
Long-term feels terrible at first. Like a goal that will never be reached. It requires faith. It requires vision, but the impact it can have is immense.
Here are a few long-term vs. short-term items to consider:
- patient marketing vs. digital advertising – Impact: Owning your marketing platform
- paying above market wages vs. below market wages – Impact: Employee retention
- tidying up using the KonMari method vs never tidying – Impact: More focus, less wasted time.
- creating systems vs. handling each task individually – Impact: Removing time for decisions.
James Clear made a good point, “Bad habits give you instant gratification, and delayed consequences. Good habits give you positive consequences, with delayed gratification.” That’s a paraphrase but it’s also true. Everyone wants to take the long-term approach, but we’re human. There is a limit on patience. There is a limit on faith. There is a tension while the magic of long-term thinking starts showing returns.
To get better at the long-term, get more comfortable with the tension.
