We don’t tell ourselves the truth because it’s easier to protect our view of ourselves and the world than it is to change our minds.
The easy path is to rationalize our actions and make excuses for our shortcomings. The smarter you are the more creative the stories and explanations we are capable of telling ourselves.
The easy path makes us think the problem is with other people rather than ourselves. The easy path absolves us from putting in the work to address the real issues. The easy path keeps us from being a better version our ourselves.
It’s uncommon to reflect on who you are and the person you want to be. It’s uncommon to look at reality try to address the real issues.
The easy path is a short game. It looks attractive & easy. The world is full of people playing the short game. We tell ourselves it’s not our fault but rather it’s someone else’s. We look at people that have success and call it luck rather than explore the work that went into it.
The long game looks much harder, at least at first. The long game is a series of incremental improvements, a series of uncomfortable question and more uncomfortable answers. The long game makes un uncomfortable.
The easy path is only easy in the short term and the long path is only hard in the short term. If you stick with them over time, the paths switch. The short game becomes a headwind and the long game becomes a tailwind. This is difficult to appreciate.
