How can you continue to strive for excellence in the face of constant struggles? How can you sacrifice the present for the future? How can you take responsibility for your own circumstances and make your dreams a reality?
A long-term perspective is generally considered a ten to twenty five year plan. It’s a journey to success that takes sacrifice, will, commitment for.
Let me ask, when was the last time you seriously thought about where you will be ten years from now? Forget about a decade, I know people who have not considered what they will be doing within the next year.
Starting with the why and defining your purpose
What is you want? Why do you want those things? Are they things you will want in the long-term, or could they change?
We grow as people, we change and mature. Making a definite and decisive commitment to a long-term goal takes discipline, willpower and a strong sense of self. A true understanding of your emotions, intentions and ultimately your decisions will allow you to have the clarity you need to formulate and work towards a long-term goal.
Only by starting with your “WHY.” This is the emotional reason you will continue to sacrifice the short-term for the long-term and work towards building your dreams.
The ultimate sacrifice
Taking a long-term perspective is an ultimate sacrifice. You are putting your faith in the future, which is never guaranteed. You’re saying “The suffering I am feeling today, it will be worth it in the long-term – whatever that may bring.”
One positive to taking a long-term perspective is that gives you time. Time to prepare, plan, learn and adapt throughout the journey. Whilst relieving you of the stress of the immediate future, it also makes each experience and decision you make more purposeful and meaningful.
However, you would be surprised how much discipline it takes to make the sacrifices needed to keep yourself focused and engaged on a long-term goal and actually take action on a daily basis. How do people do it? There is no clear-cut answer on how these sacrifices can be avoided. Besides shifting your own mindset, there is nothing much you can do. A long-term goal requires sacrifice almost always.
Luckily for everyone out there with long-term goals? There are ways you can make it easier for yourself:
- Visualise the life you wish to live often
- Share your plans with your partner, friends and closest associates
- Rejoice in the small victories
- Learn from your mistakes quickly
- Take action every single day (continue the momentum)
- Ensure you always have actionable, practical steps towards achieving your goal
- Be adaptive and allow your plans or goals to change as you grow
- Living a life of responsibility and meaning
No reason will be big enough to continue to work towards a long-term with the absence of meaning, purpose and responsibility.
To give your best shot at life, to try to express yourself the most articulately and clearly as you can, to let yourself grow and develop in accordance to a long-term commitment? That requires a goal that influences not only your life, but helps to enrich and fulfil the lives of others.
A life of meaning provides you with the motivation to strive for excellence in the face of adversary. It gives you the reason to sacrifice the present for the future. It gives you the responsibility you need to drive forward with your dreams and make them a reality.
In short and to summarise, everyone wants a great life. The difference between those who build on their dreams and those who don’t? A long-term perspective. The ability to sacrifice the now for the promise of a better tomorrow. Requiring not only a huge amount of discipline but a clear vision of who you want to become in the future, there are three ways you can help increase the chance of success when you are looking to achieve your long-term goals:
Start with the why and give yourself and emotional reason to continue
Ensure you are aware of the sacrifices and hard work needed to meet your own expectations, and make actionable plans (and stick to them!)
Adopt a life of responsibility to ensure your place in society is meaningful and worthwhile (by aiming to make the world a better place)
Are you looking to make a change? Continuing to feed your destructive habits in spite of the long-term effects it’s having on your lifestyle? Give me a call – Stuart on 07825599340 to arrange a chat on how hypnotherapy and life coaching could completely change your life.
