The Power of Short Term Thinking

(This blog post was originally published on 02/03/22 and was updated and re-published on 12/20/23.)

I saw a TikTok video the other day that made me both giggle and also ponder life. (Those are the best, am I right?) Picture a man sitting in his car, sipping on an iced coffee and looking straight into the camera. You can tell he's about to deliver a cheeky rant which goes something like:

He needs to know the answer to this question because it's virtually impossible to live in a way that honors both accompanying mindsets. It's funny because it's so relatable, especially during the pandemic. This predicament clearly resonated, as hundreds sounded off in the comments with variations on the declaration: "Yes! I refuse to spend my last days going to the gym and drinking green juice!"

It begs the questions:

Would you fly to the nearest beach or that place you've always wanted to visit? Would you gather with friends and family and throw a giant party? Would you go on a really long and beautiful hike in the forest and then have chocolate cake and wine for dinner? (Me. I would do that.) Your last days are to be lived luxuriously with rich decadence, throwing caution (and dieting) to the wind!

That being said, if I were to "Live every day like it's your last!" I would be broke, unhealthy and perpetually jet-lagged. Maybe it's because I have a penchant for taking things a little too literally, but I never really understood that phrase.

Live Like There's No Tomorrow?

Many of us have no idea how long we're going to live. However living your life like there's no tomorrow, making no plans for the future, is probably not going to make for a good life. You'll surely accomplish very little and annoy the heck out of yourself and others as you're running around in full chaos mode. On the flip side, thinking you have all the time in the world may also cause you to prioritize incorrectly. If you think you have 80 years instead of 1, you may feel inclined to let life pass you by and commit to things you don't really want to do.

I recently watched Don't Look Up, and it made me think about how I'd live my life if I knew I only had 6 months left to live, like the characters in the movie. Jennifer Lawrence's character uses the diet app on her phone to countdown the days until her time on Earth (and her diet) ends. She almost seems relieved when she realizes that she'll never have to diet again . . . because she'll be dead. It's morbid but also kind've funny? It begs the question: Would you still diet if you had 6 months to live? Your answer may indicate what type of person you are. (Seth Godin also reflects on this concept in an interview with Tim Ferriss regarding what action we should take regarding long-term effects like climate change.)

One Year to Live

Although "Live every day like it's your last!" is terrible advice IMO, I think it's a good thought exercise. Or better yet, what if you had one month, 6 months or one year? What would be really important for you to accomplish or do in that short amount of time? Maybe you'd quit your job (and your diet!) and go on a trip with your friends and family. That could indicate how important friends and family are to you over your job or how you look in a bikini.

Maybe you would travel, get married, write that book you've been meaning to, make amends with an estranged friend or family member. . . Hopefully you'd also stop worrying about dumb stuff, like what some random person said to you 3 years ago or that your house isn't as clean as it was when you bought it. (Let it go.)

Yes, short-term thinking may dissuade you from long-term achievements like completing medical school or getting that promotion, so I don't necessarily condone living your life like this either. However it's a useful thought exercise. For example, if you're completely miserable and counting down the days until "x" happens, it's a good idea to check in with yourself every once in a while and ask:

I wish I had asked myself these questions when I was going through engineering school, or really at any point during my engineering career. I might have changed my degree or career much sooner.

I've also had many a friend who has said some variation of "Yeah, I'm really miserable with 'x' aspect of my life, but once 'y' happens, it will all be worth it!" A part of me dies inside when I hear that. Because so often when that promotion, pay raise, or <insert other achievement> happens, it doesn't bring you more joy like you expected. In fact, our minds are really bad at predicting what we'll make us happy. Not to mention that many ambitious people find themselves climbing the wrong hill when it comes to achievement. Being good at something doesn't mean you should do that "something" for the rest of your life, or any part of your life for that matter. On that same note: just because you've spent "x" number of years doing something also doesn't mean you need to continue doing that thing, especially if it's making you incredibly unhappy. Read: Sunk Cost Fallacy.

It may sound corny, but I encourage you to ask yourself: "What would I do if I only had 1 year?" when identifying your annual resolutions or when you're presented with a future opportunity or invite.* You might be surprised by the answer. Hopefully it will encourage you to finally go do the thing you've been wanting or waiting to do. Maybe it will help you be more spontaneous (something I struggle with.) It may also help you be more realistic about what you can actually accomplish in a year, which can help prioritize some goals over others.

For me, quitting my job and taking a true vacation from all work endeavors was something I'd been fantasizing about for years. And it was the best gift I've ever given myself. And for the first time in a long time, I can confidently say that I am living my life as if it were my last year (with maybe some minor caveats.) I'm not living like there's no tomorrow, but I'm also not living like I have all the time in the world.

*Another useful thought exercise for knowing whether to say "yes" to a future opportunity or invite is to think about whether you'd say "yes" if that event was tomorrow. This exercise helps you be kind to your future self. Many times we say "yes" to things we don't actually want to do, leaving our future self signed up to do a whole lot of stuff we're not excited about. Another useful rule by way of Derek Sivers: "If it's not a "HELL YEAH!" it's a "No." Put another way by Diana Chapman: If it's not a "Whole-Body Yes," it's a "No."