People overestimate what they can do in a year, but grossly underestimate what they can do in a few decades.
Training yourself to think in the long-term (“deep time” is the term used by theologian, Thomas Berry) requires a brain that has matured past its teenage years. This is different than a person who has aged as maturity and aging don’t always go hand in hand. A brain that has matured beyond that point is capable of discerning decisions that consider the long term.
Impulsive, immediate and quick are marketing ploys to demand we get the latest and greatest right now.
Unfortunately, this deteriorates our capacity to see beyond the moment, which is also a trend that infiltrated the corporate world. They look at their timeline in terms of quarters, often ignoring long-term payoffs that would serve the company… or overreacting to short terms losses by punishing its workforce.
In the political world, politicians only look towards the next election.
In the financial world, it’s hard to sell people on index funds (the number one recommendation of Warren Buffet) because they payoff twenty to thirty years down the road. They also command the least amount of commission for the salesperson.
Health crazes show immediate results in weeks, but only show those immediate results. Those who slowly take care of themselves through smaller steps, consistently, have results that last a lifetime.
How can we overcome this short term thinking?
Don’t make a decision to get something, but rather to start a process.
Once a process becomes ingrained, it requires no thought on the person – an automatic habit. The process is what provides consistent results and pushes someone to a higher level.
Look at each decision and ask, “What will this look like after I haul it for a few decades?”
You can never be completely certain and this requires some willingness to take a few leaps of faith, but it provides the self-reflection to be honest.
It will stunt the frustration of overestimating what can be done in a year (and not accomplishing it) and boost confidence for what can be done in the long term.