/? 280510" Short Term And Long Term Goal Setting

Too Short

Have you ever had the experience of being really busy all day and at the end of it, wondering what the heck you accomplished? Or of getting the job done by being really focused for days/weeks/months or even years, then taking a step back at the end of it all and realizing that you would have been better off devoting your time to something else?

That last one is particularly poignant when decades have gone down the tubes working hard in a career or environment that doesn't really suit you. I can't tell you how often I've seen retirees' eyes reflect deep regret. All of these are examples of what can happen when you're too short-term oriented in your goals. Sometimes being "too short-term oriented" can mean that you're hopping from one urgency to another, or spend weeks on a project without giving sufficient thought to how it fits in with your ultimate goals.

But sometimes, it can be disguised as an apparently well-thought out career or business plan, as illustrated by retired executives who have deep regrets about their work life. What was missing in that case was a larger picture of what they wanted their life to be about. /? 280510" Short Term And Long Term Goal Setting

Too long

Do you know anyone who can't figure out what he/she wants to do with his life and never gets started with anything? Or someone who only wants to focus on the big picture and long term vision, never stopping to figure out the steps to get there and how to get them done? Or someone who does the daily/weekly tasks but you can really feel how he/she resents doing them?

Those are symptoms of being too long-term oriented. These people are often accused of being "dreamers", or in the last case, bitter dreamers. On which side of the short-long continuum do you usually live? /? 280510" Short Term And Long Term Goal Setting