Short-term vs Long-term. Which one for motivation?

In the journey of achieving success, many people lose touch with who they really are. They put aside their personality in order to encourage the actions that create the results right away. They focus on the short-term effects of actions rather than the long-term effect.

You should learn why short-term goals are useful and why you should not discard them. The idea is not long-term is better than short-term goals, the idea is how can short-term give me satisfaction and achieve my long-term goals.

Short-term? But why?

Short-term actions are helpful for many reasons, they motivate people to continue, they show that results exist but persistence, patience and strategy are the key to really achieving the bigger goal. One should look at short-term goals as the baby steps to the long-term goal. A short-term goal is something that is doable withing a short span such as a week, a month or a year. It is useful once you already know the end goal, the final picture you want.

Most people think that short-term satisfaction is the best thing because you feel happy instantly or almost but they forget the important question. Are they fulfilled? The end vision serves that purpose, the sense of fulfilment but the results will come by achieving the weekly goals, and then the monthly goals and then the yearly goals.

So I should find my long-term goal first?

The easy answer is absolutely! The real and more complicated answer is “it depends”. It does not depend on the rest of the world but on you. If you do not know what drives you, motivates you or gives you a sense of fulfilment, focusing more on short-term goals are the way to go because they will give you a general idea of what drives you. So I encourage you if you are in that situation to achieve smaller goals and then think about what is your vision of your world.

However, I personally find that long-term goals are the best way to start because they give you the general idea and it is easier to creates and find the steps to the achievement of it. Also, long-term actions should also be looked at more deeply and not rushed through. Is it strategic to start a habit just because in two years, three years or 10 years you think it will help? Does one need to suffer a long time to achieve the one goal it has established for himself?

Thinking about the long-term vision is something where I suggest people should look more at what makes them happy and to be in touch with the “I” inside them. Not to forget that a final goal is a vision in progress, it can be changed or tweaked over time but it gives a direction.

Finally

There is no right or wrong answers but a balance of both to achieve success in the form that one wants. To become the best swimmer, Michael Phelps set a big goal with a long-term vision while focusing on small goals to achieve short-term performance. Gary Vee said focusing on short-term goals gives you the steps, but focusing on long-term goals gives you the fire. You have time to achieve what you want, don’t rush through the steps.

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