Most people orient their lives towards the short-term future. They think about things that will make them happy next weekend, next month, or next year.
Operating in this close time range makes sacrifice a more reasonable decision. It makes living for the future (not in the present moment) easier because the future seems closer. You can sacrifice your health for work, your relationships for your physical health, your work for your relationships.
All of this falls under an unhappy today to be happy tomorrow approach. Ironically, extending your aim further into the future makes it easier to enjoy the present.
Aiming for health, wealth, and happiness next month makes it easier to give those things up today. To think that you’ll get back in shape next year, or starting saving in the winter.
To aim for health, wealth, and happiness in 15 years, you need to create a life today that supports those goals. You can see that over 15 years your habits, routines, and small decisions compound to have massive effects, so you need to first focus on habits and lifestyle today.
In doing that you build a life with consistent progress, which is one of the most satisfying feelings we can have. We are hardwired for progress, so knowing that you are setting yourself up for the future feels good today. That good feeling in the present is what makes sustained habits over the long-term possibilities and is also the sweet spot for fulfillment– a life enjoyable in the short-term, that doesn’t sacrifice enjoyment in the long-term.
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