Keys to thinking long term
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Thinking long term can mean something different to each of us — career, finances, relationships, health— these things all require some degree of thinking about the future.
To me, it’s about realizing that small (sometimes seemingly insignificant) efforts now can add up to huge sums and have great impact on your future; a spring that trickles into a vast lake.
Shifting my mindset towards the future has continued to produce results that make my life better.
I don’t view the following as tips but as what to be mindful of when thinking long term.
Stop comparing to others (and yourself)
“Comparison is the death of joy.”
— Mark Twain
If you spend all of your energy wondering why you haven’t made the same progress as those around you, you will have no energy left to improve yourself.
At best, we only see the external facing results of their hard work; not the long and grueling effort put into reaching that point. It’s easy to wonder how they can make it look easy when you struggle to make significant progress.
At worst, we see their facade put forward with no substance to back it up.
Regardless, it is important to focus on yourself first.
If I’m being honest, I don’t even recommend comparing you to yourself. Sure, taking a look back to ensure you are moving in the right direction is important, but these things take time and it can be discouraging when day by day progress is difficult to perceive.
Align your day to day with the future
As mentioned, it takes consistent and sometimes seemingly insignificant actions over time. The more of these you can fit into your daily life, the more likely you’ll be to see long term success.
Cook breakfast and brew your coffee at home to save money. Find an hour in the morning or evening to read, write, draw or study. Spend 30–45 minutes a day on a run, at the gym or taking a walk.
Whatever it is you wish to pursue, find time and make it a priority of your daily life.
It doesn’t matter if it’s one thing or ten; or if you miss a day here and there. Make conscious effort to keep it routine. What’s important is creating a habit that will keep you in the flow and progressing.
Embrace what you can’t control
What happens in life isn’t always in our control and it’s important to realize this.
It’s too easy to get stuck on the past when things don’t go our way and often there is nothing more that we could have done.
Rejection — sickness — death — or just a simple bad day.
Understand that you don’t have direct control over these things, take time to sort them out for yourself and move forward.
Take responsibility
The flip side to my last point is to realize that you and only you are responsible for what’s in your control.
Scapegoats are no good here.
When you plan for the long term, take life in stride. There will be plenty out of your control but how you react and what you do to shift the balance is on you.
Enjoy the journey
I think reaching a long term goal, while exhilarating, is often not what we picture.
The gold plating fades and what we thought we wanted evolves or our priorities change.
It’s important to realize that the path of achieving what we set forth to do will likely be more fulfilling than reaching the goal itself.
I see this in fitness journeys. You set a goal:
I want to lose 25 pounds.
When you’ve done it, maybe you’re not quite as fit as you thought you’d be or perhaps you’d like to see yourself with a bit more muscle tone.
Whatever it is, there is a choice to make:
Either say screw it and let yourself revert back to familiar ways OR acknowledge the changes you’ve made in yourself and realize that it’s a long term journey with no clear point of completion.
It’s a bit scary and liberating at the same time.
Find a balance
Some may argue that life is too short to always think long term and there is some truth to this. By no means do I recommend forsaking all short term goals and leisures for some future dream life.
Finding a balance is key and this will be different for each person.
Regardless, it doesn’t hurt to take a look at how we spend our time, money and energy and ensure that our future selves can be happy with the decisions we’re making.
For more
Thank you for taking the time to read my post. If you’d like to read more:
Originally published at https://blog.nickhorn.com on February 4, 2020.
