Is the shortcut really “shorter”?
Initially, yes.
Down the track, no.
How do I know this?
I’ve learnt the hard way.
Or should I say the long way?
Whether it be physical fitness, mental health, or just simply a small decision, it can dramatically alter an outcome, years from now.
Take a simple concept as a flight of stairs to your office at work.
Every morning you are presented with a decision, take the elevator or take the stairs.
Let’s say you take the elevator.
You then decide every morning to take the elevator, which equates to 2 times per day by 5 days per week by 48 weeks of the year give you 480 times.
Now the contrary.
If you were to take the stairs instead, that’s a rough elevation gain done by your legs of 3 m (standard height of a single floor or flight of stairs) by our previous number gives us 1,440 metres of elevation gained.
The multiplication game really comes into play here.
Now shortcut vs the longcut, right?
Shortcut we think of the elevator.
Longcut we think of the stairs.
In that split second moment of decision, although infinitely tiny, has significantly little implications, however when multiplied by a huge factor, it becomes massive.
The potential consequences of the elevator:
- Lower cardiovascular fitness
- Lower personal willpower
- Lower mindfulness of the outside world
- Lower personal discipline
The potential consequences of the stairs:
- Increased cardiovascular fitness
- Greater feeling of accomplishment and mood
- Increased physical lower body strength
- Increased personal discipline
Some examples of shortcuts:
- Running 2.5 km when you planned (and told yourself) you’d run 3 km but you got “tired”
- Buying McDonalds on the way home from the gym because you didn’t prepare your healthy meals ahead of time like you said you would on the weekend
- Buying that book you always wanted to read but you decide to watch TV instead every night during the week all the way until you go to bed
As for examples of longcuts, well they’re the opposite of the above, when you told yourself you’d do something, you put in a little bit “extra” and take the path with more resistance.
You realise the benefits aren’t immediate but they will come in dividends.
You are patient.
Conclusion:
It may not look like much but shortcuts taken frequently unfortunately get overtaken by the compound effect.
Before you know it that shortcut costs you more than you could ever know.
In quick conclusion, the best things in life come from compound interest and the use of delayed gratification.
Something small that makes you feel good in the short term may hurt you in the long term, but if you decide to do something slightly more difficult today, tomorrow will reward you.
Patience is key.
The best things don’t come overnight.
Make sure you take the stairs.
PS – longcut isn’t really a word according the dictionary, but it’s used here for illustrative purposes.
PPS – credit goes to Seth Godin for providing the inspiration to write this article, as I was listening to one of his speeches when it prompted the idea.