What separates successful from the unsuccessful in life? Why do some people win and others lose?
One difference is that winners think in the long term. This is a huge factor in determining success because thinking in the long term leads to better decisions, which in turn leads to better results.
Do you want your life to play out a certain way? If so developing the habit of long term thinking will help you out in making your dream a reality!
Thinking in the long term is having a vision of how you want things to end up, and then making your decisions accordingly. Thinking long-term gets you through tough times because it puts present challenges into perspective, making them seem small.
Temporary setbacks don't seem like a big deal to someone who is thinking long-term. Kobe Bryant had a vision to be the best basketball player of all time. Early in his career, he shot 3 straight air-balls in a playoff game, thus eliminating his team from the playoffs.
However, this setback only motivated him to improve because of his mindset, which was focused on the long-term. Kobe had a vision to be the best, so he based all his decisions off of that dream. After games, his teammates would go out to party at the clubs, he would go back home and study game-tape. Who had the greater career, Kobe or his teammates? Kobe, of course, because he made all his little decisions based off a long term perspective.
Why think in the long term? Thomas Edison had a dream to make lamps fueled by electricity. He became obsessed with this goal and despite failing thousands of times, he persisted because he was more focused on his desired long-term result than the difficulties he was experiencing in the short term.
No getting around it, time will continue to go on. So where will you be a year from now? What about 5 years? How about 20? Random actions made today based on short-term considerations will yield random results for tomorrow, for a year from now, 10 years etc. The fact is our lives continues to go on no matter what, so one of the wisest things we can do now, is to make decisions that will create the future we desire.
It's no coincidence that a common trait of high achievers is their ability to put off instant gratification. They are trading it for long-term satisfaction because they are thinking in the long-term. "What you sow, you will reap...". What we do today, will determine our tomorrow.
By adopting the habit of long-term thinking, many areas of your life will naturally improve. Time management will naturally improve- if you're always thinking about where you want to go, you'll be more likely to spend your time doing the things to get you there. The key is to discipline your mind to keep focused on your desired future.
Your relationships with improve because you'll be less inclined to do things that hurt relationships. Anyone who is focused on the long-term implications of what they do will see that holding a grudge, judging or mocking someone, or anything of the sort is not only futile, but harms everyone involved including themselves.
How does one think long term? You may well be thinking "That's nice, but thinking in the long-term is easier said than done." You're absolutely right. If you want to be good at playing the piano, what do you do? How do you get good at soccer? Practice! Don't practice long term thinking and you won't get better, practice it and you will improve. A practical way you can start practicing is by making it a daily habit to write down and visualize your goals for what you want to accomplish. Doing this each morning is a good way to 'program' your day for success
Long term thinking is a skill, and isn't developed overnight. However, making it the way you think will undoubtedly lead to greater success. We owe the existence of airplanes to the long term thinking of the Wright Brothers; the discovery of America to the vision of Christopher Columbus; the light bulb to Thomas Edison's foresight. A pattern is clear, great achievements tend to be preceded by a Long Term Vision.
