Most of us imagine that we engage in some form of long-term thinking; after all, we have goals and plans. And basically we are in denial about this because it is hard to have perspective about our own decision-making process. The best way to overcome this is to recognize the clear signs of short sighted thinking in our own lives. As with most elements of human nature, awareness is the key.

Short-term thinking

You feel overwhelmed by the complexity of your work. You feel the need to be on top of all the details and global trends so you can control things better, but you are drowning in information. It is hard to see the proverbial forest from the trees. This is a sure sign that you have lost a sense of your priorities — which facts are more important, what problems or details require more attention.

Lost in trivia

Many of us have become addicted to the minute-by-minute news cycle, to “what’s trending". We feel like we are connected to the very flow of life itself, to events as they change in real time, and to other people who are following the same instant reports. Once we expect to have some bit of news quickly, we can never go back to the slower pace of just a year ago.  Our attention span decreases as well as our tolerance for any obstacles in our path.

Ticker tape fever

Because we mostly react instead of think, our actions are based on insufficient information. We grab for a solution without thinking deeply about the context of the problem: e.g: We try to cheer up a depressed person by making her realize that her life is not that bad and that the sun is shining, only to find out we have made her even more depressed. She now feels guilty about her feelings, worthless, and more alone in her unhappiness.

Unintended consequences

You find yourself embroiled in several struggles or battles. You seem to get nowhere but you feel like you have invested so much time and energy already that it would be a waste to give up. You have actually  lost sight of your goals. Instead it has become a question of asserting your ego.You need some detachment and perspective. Remind yourself that winning an argument or proving your point really gets you nowhere in the long run.

Tactical hell

Most of us imagine that we engage in some form of long-term thinking; after all, we have goals and plans. But really we are fooling ourselves. We can see this most clearly when we talk to other people about their plans and strategies for the near and more distant future: we are often struck by their vagueness and the lack of deep thinking people generally give to such plans.

Unintended consequences

4 Signs of Short-Term Thinking and Strategies to Overcome Them

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