How to Create a Long-Term Vision of Success

We live in a world that is dominated by the desire for instant gratification. Because of this, the vast majority of people are focused on short-term results, rather than long-term success.

Think about the many ways in which this plays out:

– Waking up in the morning and getting sucked into social media, rather than exercising or investing quality time with those closest to you.

– Making decisions at work that reflect favorably on you in the short-run, but aren’t necessarily in the long-term best interest of your company.

– Watching television or binging the latest Netflix releases, rather than reading or taking an online class to grow yourself personally or professionally.

– Living beyond your means financially, instead of “paying yourself first” and investing for your future. 

One of my favorite illustrations of the challenge with delayed gratification is the Stanford marshmallow experiment, conducted in 1972 at Stanford University. In this experiment, a child was offered a choice between one small but immediate reward, or two small rewards if they waited for a period of time. The researcher would leave the room, and then return about 15 minutes later. Depending on the preference of the child, the reward was either a marshmallow or pretzel stick. In this experiment, and subsequent follow-up studies, researchers found that the children who were able to wait longer for the preferred rewards tended to have better life outcomes.

To see a version of the experiment at a school in San Diego – and gain an even greater appreciation for the topic we’re discussing, click here. 

Please don’t misunderstand me. There’s nothing inherently wrong with social media, or achieving quick “wins” at work, watching television or buying “stuff.” But when those activities dominate your time and life, there will be long-term ramifications of those decisions.

In an exercise I facilitate, called The Goals Workshop, participants make a list of everything they want to be, do and have in the next 10 years. One interesting part of the exercise is to see how many short-term goals people have, and how many are longer term. Ideally, you would end up with a healthy mix of both – several short-term goals that can be accomplished within the next year, some intermediate goals that you expect to achieve in the next 3-5 years, and long-term goals that could take up to 10 years, or even longer.

So how can we make sure the actions we take today benefit us over the long run? By creating a vision of what long-term success looks like, and then determining the actions we need to take today and tomorrow and next week and next month, to make that vision a reality.

Here are a few key ingredients to long-term success:

Vision

In order to achieve long-term success – whatever that looks like for you – you must first create a plan for what that looks like. 

Action

Once you have a vision, a plan, then break your goal down into smaller action steps. What is one thing you can do today to move you in the direction of your desired outcome? Do that thing, and then the next thing, and so on.

Commitment

A huge part of achievement is making the decision to do something, and then truly committing to doing what it takes to be successful. Once you’re clear on your vision, and have an action plan, then resolve to move in the direction of your desired outcome.

Patience

Long-term success takes time to develop. Success never happens overnight, but it will come if you take continuous action. Be patient, and have faith in the process.

Taking a long-term approach is the key to great success. It’s not something you can wait to get around to “someday.” There are seven days in a week, but “someday” isn’t one of them! 

Success is the result of small actions performed repeatedly over time. Your long-term vision must be part of the choices you make – and the actions you take – every day:

– Exercise today to achieve long-term health and vitality.
– Invest time with your spouse today to create a lasting, happy marriage.
– Make the sales calls today that are required to build residual income for the future.

Make the decision today to shift your mindset from short-term instant gratification to a long-term vision of success. You’ll be glad you did!