Monday Motivating Mindset

THE HYPE

This weeks Motivating Mindset will put a new spin on the way you think long-term about your life.


THE CHALLENGE

Your Mindset challenge this week is getting in the habit of asking yourself:
"What am I giving up by seeing only the short term?"


THE PROMISE

Ask yourself this question during as many decisions as possible this week and you will begin to see life from more of a long-term perspective.


THE TIPS

A great question to ask the next time you are faced with a decision that you must weigh the consequences is "What am I giving up by seeing only the short term?"

The point of this question is to get you to consider both the short and long-term implications of your decision.

Many times we hastily make rash decisions without considering the effects until after it's too late, or sometimes not considering them at all.

For example, if you were offered a choice between having $1,000 cash in your pocket this very moment or waiting a full year and receiving $1,500, the majority of people would go with the quick money.

What would you choose?

90% of people would choose the smaller amount even though they would get 50% more if they waited and even when they had to do nothing in addition to claim the larger amount.

How does this play out when it comes to saving and investing your money?

The person who picks the $1,000 is more likely to have less savings and investments than the person who chooses to wait for the $1,500.

While there is nothing inherently wrong with choosing the smaller amount to enjoy sooner, the long-term implications of choosing this, means that over time you will find it more and more difficult to choose the larger amount later.

We are constantly building neural networks in the brain, hard-wiring the brain with choices and decisions into associations and identities.

An identity is simply a pattern of thought that you have bought over a period of time.

By continually focusing on a smaller result you may receive the reward sooner but in reality you are strengthening a long-term identity that will hold you hostage and keep you playing small.

This is because when left to it's own choice, the mind has the tendency to want to do the minimal to get by, to avoid rocking the boat and to stay in your comfort zone.

What this translates into is the automatic sacrifice of long-term rewards for a short-term gains.

An example that illustrates this is picturing a hockey game where one team is 100% motivated by defense and no one ever attempts to score on the other team.

While this strategy (if you want to call it one) would lead to short term results, i.e. feeling good that the other team would have a very tough time scoring, the long-term implications are that they would never win a game because they are ignoring the bigger picture and not doing what it takes to win.

How often are you faced with situations that play out like this hockey game?

How often do you continue to allow yourself to play defense only, to not take risks and try and score a goal?

For example, if you are currently single it may seem easier not to talk to that handsome man you run into at the supermarket every week.

It may seem easier not to expose yourself to the possibility of being rejected or having to participate in an awkward conversation.

However, ask yourself "What am I giving up by seeing only the short term?" to help you break-free of the tendency to remain in your comfort zone.

Perhaps answering the question in this example you might come up with answers such as: "I am giving up the chance to find a significant other" or "I am giving up the potential of meeting my future husband, the father of my kids, or passing by the companion I've been searching for all my life".

When you come up with answers adopted from a long-term perspective it helps reframe the current situation and make new decisions.

Taking time to consider new answers and information is important if you are looking to break-free from an old habit.

In life you have a choice, either attempt to acquire something smaller sooner or wait to develop something that is larger later.

Apply this weeks motivating mindset to areas such as relationships, finances and weight loss and you will be surprised at what type of long-term results you can achieve.


THE SECRET

If you aren't growing in an area of your life then by the contrary you must be dying.

Who would you like to grow yourself into? What areas of your life are important to you? Where are your values placed?

If you aren't sure who, what or where a good starting place is to examine your current history, results and actions.

How do you spend your time right now? Where have you been placing your energy, attention and focus?

Answer this question openly and honestly and you will shed some light on what is most important to you right now.

After you're aware of your life values your next goal is to ensure you devote the proper time and attention to supports these areas.

Developing patience with yourself and with the people that you care about is just as important as experiencing the actual growth itself.

Continually asking yourself the question "What am I giving up by seeing only the short term?" helps you realize the validity behind the saying "patience is a virtue"

Beware that time is an ongoing illusion that is capable of hiding the small steps we take and the incremental growth we make.

It is easy to make the mistake of believing that you haven't accomplished anything.

It is easy for the results of your efforts to be obscured by the present reality.

Understand that your present reality is merely a reflection of the choices you made previously in your past years, months and days.

In order for your new decisions to take affect and to see external results, you must patiently wait for days, months and even possibly years.

Keep in mind that just because you cannot see the change happening doesn't mean it isn't.

For instance, have you ever seen first-hand the drift between the continental plates?

What about ever witnessing your fingernails growing?

You probably didn't notice either because they both happen at an average growth rate of 0.1 mm each day (1 centimeter in 100 days).

Yet these forces continue to happen undetected as we speak and one day, sooner or later, you may be forced to respond to this growth.

You will probably choose to cut your fingernails when they get too long or there may be an earth quake or tsunami from the plate tectonics colliding.

Seen or unseen everyday life is unfolding before your very eyes.

The direction that your life unfolds takes place in the small and seemingly unimportant choices that you make every day.

Take a moment to write down the skills, talents and higher visions that are unfolding inside of you right now.

You may have heard the say that "Rome wasn't built in a day" well neither should the gifts that you offer the world.

Buying into rewards that are smaller sooner is only an illusion and is not a shortcut that leads to long-term success.

Ask yourself "What am I giving up by seeing only the short term?" to help you realize your long-term vision.