365QOD- Day1180

Short, Medium, and Long Term Thinking

"What are the implications of this decision 10 minutes, 10 months, and 10 years from now?"- Suzy Welch

I believe that often when evaluating decisions we operate in the short to medium time frame.  Most decisions do not seem to affect our long term visions and therefore we use the 10 minute and 10 month horizons.

Unfortunately, this sets us up for failing to see the big trends in our lives.  The decisions that are good for us in the next 10 minutes might be horrible when viewed in 10 years time frame.  Cheeseburger anyone?

I believe that Suzy's quote offers a pause for us to quickly ask ourselves the three questions:
1. What will be the implication of this decision in 10 minutes?
2. What will be the implication of this decision in 10 months?

3. What will be the implication of this decision in 10 years?

In my opinion we should be able to answer this from the top of our head and quickly get a feel for the level of this decision.  Consider the cheeseburger question.

1. In 10 minutes my hunger will be satisfied

2. In 10 months my waist will increase if I repeat this choice

3. In 10 years of this bad choice my arteries will be plugged

Immediately, we can see that choosing to eat the cheeseburger only is beneficial to our short term self.  Maybe there is a better choice for a meal?

Today's question is:

"Do you pause to consider the 10min/10month/10year implications of your decisions?"