How and Why I Taught Myself to Think Long Term to Build Wealth and Happiness

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do.” – Mark Twain

In the last post of my six post segment, I want to help you think long term. I believe many of us have developed a desire to achieve success immediately and have trained ourselves to think short term.

To achieve success and live the life you want, you need to learn how to think long term. Success and failures come in waves and we need to be prepared to manage our emotions and understand that everything we do today is to contribute to long term growth.

I remember, when I was first getting started, I wanted to earn more and reap the benefits of entrepreneurship so quickly that I would often get frustrated when things weren’t moving along as quickly as I wanted. Today, before I take on any initiatives or partnerships, I think, “How is this going to help me in the long run?” If the outcomes are all positive then I will move forward but if I only see short term benefits that aren’t sustainable then I’ll pass.

You see, you can’t be doing everything at once. You need to evaluate the opportunity cost in everything that you do and take on as projects or things that require your attention. When deciding to do option A or option B, ask yourself, “Which one is going to help me in the long run?”

Short term success is often not sustainable. I know a few friends who have earned immediate success in the stock market but because the success for them came with little effort they burned through their wealth almost immediately. When we put forth years of hard work, success will come but we need to learn to be patient and recognize we are building a sustainable platform for wealth and happiness.

This year, ensure that all your effort is going toward things that you could see yourself doing in 5, 10 or 15 years.