Why does the universe seem to be set up in such a way that the things that are easy often aren’t good for us? And the stuff that tastes good isn’t healthy?

If it isn’t a “Law,” it at least seems to be a general principle that:

Short-Term Easy is Long-Term Hard.
Short-Term Hard is Long-Term Easy.

In some cases, I think we can bend and shape reality a little. For example, we can take actions so that we like the taste of healthy food. It might take some time if you have lived on a diet of Mountain Dew and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups (a completely hypothetical example), but it can happen. Your taste buds can change. Healthy can become tasty.

But I am not sure how many things fall into that kind of category. Some things seem like they will always be hard. Those things are probably good for us because they are hard.

A couple of examples:

Exercise is hard. Even if you like exercising, it is the difficulty and strain on your muscles or lungs that help you get stronger (or remain strong). You can skip all of that strain, of course, and be comfortable now, but life will be much more difficult as your body ages and grows weaker and less able to do things.

Having direct, honest, corrective conversations with people is hard. Even if you are good at it, you don’t like doing it. It is unpleasant and uncomfortable and can turn ugly quickly, even if you handle your part well. The easy thing to do is to avoid them or put them off, but that only makes them worse later.

Part of what makes this a challenge is that we don’t always think long-term. We focus on the present. There are so many things coming at us at once. The number of decisions to make and the pace of activity can be overwhelming. And who wants to make things harder on themselves voluntarily? Life is hard enough already.

But without considering the short-term and the long-term, we don’t think about the trade-offs that we make. Without consciously thinking about those trade-offs, we can slip into habits of making easy short-term choices that have hard long-term results.

How can we help ourselves make more “short-term hard, long-term easy” decisions and fewer “short-term easy, long-term hard” decisions?

1. Automate decisions. Don’t depend on discipline. Don’t make yourself have to spend mental and emotional energy trying to make good decisions. If you can automate them, do it. For example, payroll deduction for retirement savings, only eating out on weekends, or having a set bedtime.

2. Get some accountability. Tell others about your decision and enlist their help in following through. When you fall off the horse, they can encourage you to get back on it.

3. Keep an eye on the prize. Visualize the long-term easy result for which you are making this short-term hard decision. Not in your mind, but physically. Make a picture. Make it awesome. Keep it in front of you.

4. Make the “short-term hard” less hard. Is working out more fun with friends? Is studying easier at your favorite coffee shop? Get creative. Every little bit helps.

Over the course of our lives, we will repeatedly face this trade-off in many different forms. The examples will change, but the principle will remain,

Short-Term Easy is Long-Term Hard.
Short-Term Hard is Long-Term Easy.

Which is why I need to be reminded of it.

Most of the time.

Sometimes, I just want my Mountain Dew and Reese’s.

 

 

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