A young woman brooded over a delivery that should’ve come months ago. Her lumber distributor stopped responding and she couldn’t find an alternative.
She needed materials for a real estate project. Tasked with developing a resort in a remote town, her deadline was right around the corner. Her boss, apathetic to her circumstances, called daily to remind her of it. She needed a solution, fast.
As she walked back to her room, a brilliant idea hit her after passing the mango fields. Why didn’t she think of it before? The town’s abundance of trees was well-known, its mangoes were the main export. She could get the lumber she needed and introduce a new stream of revenue.
That day, she hired several of the locals to cut down an entire field. When that went well, she had them cut down more until there were only a few left, which she cut down too. A month passed and she reached her success; construction had started. As she packed her bags to return back to headquarters, she heard a commotion outside.
The townspeople were livid. They were ripping down the budding construction and setting fire to the grounds. The young woman stormed up to them asking incredulously, “What could you be so angry about? I’ve made us all a fortune!”
One of the mobsters turned to her and said, “and what will we make next year when we have no mangos?”
Why It’s Difficult to Reach Long-Term Goals
I hope no one has angry townspeople ripping apart their dreams, but a lot can go wrong when you’re going after what you want. I read a statistic that only 9% of Americans succeed in their New Year’s resolutions. 43% quit before the end of January. Why? Because of our short-sightedness when setting and executing our goals.
We can blame human nature for that. Short-sightedness is in our DNA. I won’t bore you with the details, but know the brain is wired for immediate gratification. Unlike our sixth toe, it’s an evolutionary trait we didn’t get rid of. It’s how our ancestors knew what berries were safe to eat or which animals were dangerous.
It’s natural to become consumed with our immediate environment and circumstances. That’s why we’re blind to unique obstacles or opportunities that cross our path. Why our young protagonist couldn’t see the unfavorable consequences of her actions. On a less dramatic scale, why we break our diets for temporary comfort or forgo our reading goal for the newest HBO series.
Expanding our perspective is the only way to improve our chances for success. If we distance ourselves from the present and take a pragmatic look at the context of our lives, we’re able to reach unimaginable heights.
Know the Details of Your Destination
You have to know where you’re going to get there. What it looks like, feels like…even smells like.
In true type A fashion, I have the next 10-years of my life mapped out. I can see the accomplishments I’ve achieved, the relationships I have, and even the type of socks I’ll wear.
This process can seem tedious and unnecessary, but it has its benefits. The first is that it gives you a firm direction, a north star. This purpose will guide you when life gets murky. You’ll have a quantifiable target that lets you know when it’s been hit. Vague desires disappear and you become more focused on intentional output.
The second reason – organized chaos. Having a roadmap takes a lot of pressure off having to recreate the wheel daily. You’ll have more brainpower to react to immediate events with creativity and ease. A long-term structure gives freedom to move and know you’re headed in the right direction.
Life happens and plans can change, but get it on paper so you’ll have something to adapt later. There are 6 areas of life to flesh out:
- Physical
- Spiritual
- Financial
- Social
- Professional
- Personal
Once you have that, reverse engineer it. If your financial goal is to be a millionaire by 50, how much money do you need by 45? By 40? 30?
Having that, you’ll have your annual goals. I like to break those down into quarterly, monthly, and weekly goals.
Prepare For Obstacles
Life is going to hit us. If you don’t plan for the inevitable, your goals become vague wishes, weak plans overwhelmed by immediate events.
All Actions Have a Consequence
Our protagonist learned this the hard way. Determined to complete her project, she didn’t consider the unintended impact of her choices. If she had, she would’ve seen that cutting down the trees would ruin the town’s revenue stream long-term.
This happens in everyday life. Imagine your physical goal is to get fit. You work out everyday, but don’t bother to stretch before or after. You’re consistent for a few months until one day you suffer an injury because your muscles are too tight. After that, resuming the consistency becomes difficult.
No one has a magic ball; we can’t see every possible outcome, but we do have deep imaginations. Come up with different scenarios that consider the high-level consequences of your actions. If you’re able to see the big things, most likely, you’ll be able to deal with the small ones. I’m also a firm believer in doing less to achieve more. Become more selective about the actions you will take and it gives you less to brainstorm.
Avoid Boiling Waters
Our goals contrast our current day. There’s always a gap; we want more money than what’s in our bank accounts or a career that’s the complete opposite of our usual responsibilities. We set goals because the environment we’re in is less than desirable.
Our reality puts pressure on us. When we feel the weight of that less, it’s easy to get overwhelmed and misstep. The young woman above felt the weight of her boss’ expectations and the looming deadline. So much so, she became desperate to take any action that felt like she was moving forward.
The solution; detachment. You have to acknowledge the gap between where you are and where you want to go. Then you need to put distance between yourself and your current situation. If our protagonist did that, she would’ve seen in the long run, it was better to be late than have an entire investment burnt to the ground. Find a new vantage point to consider the high-level.
Prioritize Information
Let’s say your professional goal is to land a new client. It’s Thursday night and after a long work day, social media bombards you with business gurus that all have an opinion. Now, you’re tired and confused.
Be wary of ‘Information Overload’. In a society where we carry the world in our pocket, we have access to so many opinions, facts, and news. The brain has its limits, so be selective in the information you consume to avoid mental fatigue.
Look for ways to prioritize different information. Realize what problems or details need more attention. For example, if one of your goals is to improve a skill, create a list of all the topics you need to up-skill in. If you notice information outside of this, compare it back to your studying and enhance or challenge the information you’ve learned.
Don’t lock yourself up in a vacuum, but save your time and energy and direct it toward what matters.
Final Thoughts
If you walk away with one new thought today it should be the opinion you have on time. There are many positives to embracing its passage, as it expands our perspective and enables us to see our situations differently.
Our short-sightedness will get in the way of our long-term success every time. To break away from it, we have to see time as an ally and use its advantages.
Like Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “The years teach much, which the days will never know.”
Slow down. Consider the long-term. Move closer to your dreams.
I’m a Detroit-based writer who splits her time between commercial and creative writing. I am very fascinated with exploring the different philosophies and cultures of the world. Outside of my writing, I’m an avid adventurer, an advocate for mental and social wellness, and a proud cat mom of 2.
