What changes do we have to make for us to start acting for the long term and not the short term? It is easy, especially when times are difficult, for us to engage in crisis behaviors that are driven purely by urgency without any sort of longer-term interests, but such behaviors are almost invariably counterproductive because long-term gain requires short-term pain but short-term gain leads to long-term pain. All throughout our societies, in all walks of life, we have to struggle with the temptation to cut corners and think and act only for today without any kind of longer-term plans.

Many of the prolonged crises we face in Western Civilization (and not only there) is because of our short-term thinking. We dam up rivers because we need the water for irrigation or power (generally the two needs are contradictory–what is good for one use generally makes it impossible to do the other purpose), and then have to deal with the flooded land, increased seismicity, and risk of dam failures because our need for water and power are so great. We run up debt because our regimes cannot survive austerity and because the people have a certain expectation of certain public services, whether they are rich or poor, and because we have certain expectations of a standard of living that in our mind require debt (student loans, house payments, and the like). Our trying to stay afloat for today only makes our future problems worse, but we dare not tackle those future problems because the crises of the present seem so urgent.

Basically, we are eating our seed corn as people and as civilizations. We seem to be of the belief that if we can muddle through long enough without disaster that things will get better on their own accord and that somehow we will find enough resources to make everything right without having to change our basic approach and behavior. This appears to be a vain hope, but given the lack of interest in behavioral change, there appear to be no other options that are being considered by many people, nor any interest in forgiveness and a fresh start. I wonder what it would take for these matters to be considered where they are not being thought of and practiced right now.

The same issue is a problem in our personal relationships. If our focus is on short-term concerns, we will not take the actions that make our relationships deeper and stronger, and we will be content to have shallow and superficial fun without any thought of tomorrow, and engage in behavior that would hurt our chances for future trust and happiness. We need to find that balance where present fun does not hurt future happiness and success, and where we can have enough encouragement and support to do what is necessary now to attain the success and happiness we desire for ourselves (and that often requires fairly lengthy and/or painful effort). But to do so requires that we view long-term considerations more highly than is often the case.

After all, the discounting of future value to none, and the disregarding of future concerns for present survival is the mindset of people and societies bent on self-destruction. Generally, the belief that our very survival and existence are at stake in the normal ups and downs of life is the result of an extreme self-centered mindset, an inability to cope with a disaster, and an inability to plan for and work for the future. I have certainly been there myself in my life, but at the same time we have to find ways of moving beyond that state. Even if the present seems daunting, the future is a much larger problem than even the crises of the present-day. By working for a better future, we will do those things that will (eventually) make our day-to-day lives better as well. Is it not worth the effort?