Complexity is so often the enemy of execution. A concept worth talking about and mastering is the ability to see the “big picture”. We’ve heard about the this forever so I want to take a stab at conveying some ideas pertaining to this. Seeing the “big picture” helps us move towards goals and have a vision that’s hard to see if we can only see what’s right in front of us.

It’s pretty simple and easy to take things one day at a time. This is why so many people fall in love with instant gratification. We want it today, it will feel good, and that’s all we care about. (I’ve never done this…) Although underneath that if we see the “big picture” we understand that it might feel good today but if we indulge in what feels good now it will impede our wants and desires in the future. This is where foolish spending comes in, excess eating, inappropriate relationships, playing nice with people at work so they’ll like us. You might feel good today but it’s gonna hurt in the future at some point.

So what about losing 30# or 50#? What about building intimacy in an important relationship? What about fulfilling your mission in life? What about saving for retirement? If you only worry about today it’s likely some or all of those things above are lagging at some level. The things above are a bit more complex. They have other moving parts that require additional care and thought. Optimizing certain parts of our lives impacts other areas. We have to use our noggin a little more and strategize.

I know we’ve all been there with a goal or plan to do or create something that starts off pretty well and then it starts to fall apart and we struggle to see it through. It starts to get hard, we become unmotivated, or other shit comes up and what we were feeling when we put the plan in place is nowhere to be found. The mental bargains show up and we default and go back on what we said. This isn’t fun but we do it all the time because it’s the pain and discomfort of tenacity and perseverance. We alll can be so lazy.

Here’s the deal. Here’s what it all come down to. If we’re going to change anything in our lives it’s going to require an elegant combination of both short term and long term goals. It’s going to require seeing out into the distance/future and then breaking things down into smaller, short term pieces to tackle along the way.

All will require discomfort and there’s pain in staying the same and there’s pain in change. So what are you going to do?

The opportunity;

What choices are you making that are short term derailing your long terms goals?
What do you get out of the short sighted choices?
What can you do to motivate yourself?
How do you stay connected to the feeling that drives you to want the long term goal?

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