Something told me I’d written about short-term thinking before. A quick Google search confirmed that I wrote that post in May 2024.
Here we are again, because short-term thinking, sadly, is still a thing. This time, I’ve decided to talk about long-term thinking because I’ve learned to focus on what I want rather than what’s lacking.
Perhaps short-term thinking is prevalent because it’s easy. If it benefits you now, you do it.
Long-term thinking requires effort. It challenges you to think about how you can leverage your actions now for benefit in the future.
In an age when there is an app for everything, I think we’d have more long-term thinkers if people could see how delaying instant gratification now can pay off tenfold. I’m not an app developer, so don’t look at me to create one; I’m simply saying it would help many people.
I don’t think we need an app. Everything doesn’t have to be easy. If I look at my accomplishments, it’s the ones I had to work the hardest for that I’m most proud of. As the saying goes, if it were easy, everyone would do it.
A scarcity mindset can be one cause of short-term thinking. If you’re hungry or don’t have rent money, you’ll be thinking about getting money now, not in a week or a month. I’m not saying there’s no place for short-term thinking; I’m saying it shouldn’t be the default. 🩵