We think we’re being smart by taking shortcuts in life. While that’s great if you’re driving your car from point A to point B, everyone knows that there are no shortcuts in life. To build a strong body, you need to work out and eat healthy food every day.

How to stay focused on the long game

To play the long game, you don’t need to be overly focused on the future and give up your life in the present.

• The only thing you need is to adjust your expectations. That will not only help you to appreciate the present more, it will also make you more patient.
• You want to patiently work towards your goals and at the same time enjoy the process.

Don’t chase short-term goals

You’re better off improving your skills, building better products, and working on things that you can influence. When you chase short-term goals, you’re often going after things that are out of your control like money, status, and approval of others.

So instead of chasing those types of things, work on what’s within your control. Eventually, others will come to you. This works on a small and big scale.

[Via]