The Long & The Short

For many of us there are basically two ways to look at Time….short-range or long-range. Both have pros and cons, but in the majority of cases long-term goal-setting will bring about the most success.

In this day and age of the “short-attention span” many find it almost impossible to wait for responses or answers. Let’s take the stock market for example….day-traders dart in and out of stocks as many as twenty times a day. I don’t know about you, but even if some of these decisions go well, the law of averages eventually comes into play. Yes, I know some people have found day-trading very profitable, but others have lost everything. Short-term vision also engulfs our relationships, and world views. A marriage, a friendship, may go through rough spots, but if we were to pull the plug on everything as soon as we experience rough waters, how much would we truly accomplish or gain?
Long-term vision, on the other hand, is not always easy either. Sometimes it involves the “patience of Job.” The interesting point about long-term vision is that it allows you to exhaust the possibilities…..Time in some strange way becomes your friend….you can honestly say “I gave it my best shot.” With reference to the stock market, most people who buy stocks and hold them for long-term have a far better chance of reaping rewards. Can you imagine purchasing Microsoft in 1986…what would you have rather done…sold it 6 months later, or still have it today? Most successful stock investors will tell you, for the average citizen, to hold for the long-term. It’s the best advice. Love doesn’t always run smoothly either, but over time we see the true value and rewards of our relationships.

Short-term, long-term…the choices affect our lives. Yes indeed, patience is a virtue, but if something is truly damaging, cut the ties……but how are we to know when to hold, and when to fold? The best advice I can give, and what I try to live by, is aim long-term, but accept that along the way there are going to be some things to cast aside. In most situations where the short or long decision has to be decided, ask yourself, is the person willing to meet me halfway? And in the case of something like stocks, ask yourself, where do I want to be 5 years from now, not 6 months.

In a world that is obsessed with the “here and now,” the truly Faithful can see beyond tomorrow…..

Look beyond the horizon,