365 Days With Self-Discipline: 365 Life-Altering Thoughts on Self-Control, Mental Resilience, and Success

Day 54: On Underestimating the Long-Term

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We  always  overestimate  the  change  that  will  occur  in  the  next  two

years and underestimate the change that will occur in the next ten. Don’t let

yourself be lulled into inaction.

—Bill Gates

 

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Bill Gates’ quote refers to the evolution of personal computing, but the

world of self-discipline isn’t any different.

A  staggering  number  of  people  give  up  on  their  goals  just  weeks  or

months into them, discouraged that they still haven’t reached their goals or

that their results are lackluster.

Sorry to have to break it to you, but the world doesn’t work that way.

With few exceptions, nobody can build a successful business in six months,

achieve  a  perfect  physique  in  three  months,  learn  a  new  language  in  four

weeks, or become a self-disciplined person overnight.

However, the sky is the limit for those who are in it for the long haul.

Ten years of dedicated practice can turn anyone into a world-class expert.

When  you  gain  momentum,  you’ll  get  exponential  results.  The  trick  is  to

stick to your goals long enough for the velocity to accrue.

For example, in the first year you might only get your business off the

ground,  but  in  its  third  or  fourth  year  it  can  explode  virtually  overnight.

What actually happens is not an overnight success, but a process that took

place over several years, during which it built upon itself in an exponential

way.

When you look at my catalog of books, you might be tempted to say

that I succeeded right away. “Martin’s first book became a bestseller, so it’s

possible to become a bestselling author in a few months.”

That would be a great example of overestimating what you can achieve

in a short period of time. My first book wasn’t actually my first book. I’d

been writing — articles, blog posts, books, etc. — for a long time before I

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started writing about self-discipline. It was a process of well over ten years

that resulted in my becoming a bestselling author.

Whenever setting a new goal, take the long-term approach. Unlike the

person who assumes that their world can change overnight, be in it for the

long haul, and the short-term fluctuations won’t make you give up.

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