No matter who you are, if you have any goals worth having, you are going to spend some time achieving them. Any goal that is actually going to bring you success will almost certainly take a long time to realize. There are no shortcuts in life.
But in order to get that long-term success, you almost always have to make short-term sacrifices. If you want to retire with $250,000 by age 60, then you need to start saving $500 a month from the age of 20. If you want to have cake left over at the end of the week for you to enjoy then you aren’t going to be able to eat the entire thing in one setting.
Short-term sacrifices are a vital part of achieving your goals and most people have trouble with them. But if you follow these tips, you may be able to make these short-term sacrifices without as much effort as you normally would have to make.
1. Create a list of short-term sacrifices you might expect to make as you are striving for your goals. Include everything that you think you might have to give up.
2. Decide whether or not you will have to give these things up temporarily or permanently.
3. Look at each one individually. Determine whether or not you are willing to give those things up in order to achieve your goal. For example, if you want to lose weight you may have to give up Chinese buffets.
4. Do this first with the permanent ones. For example, someone who is trying to become clean and sober will have to give up drinking or using drugs recreationally and it may mean that they will never be able to use narcotics even when they should be prescribed.
5. Look at the things that you may have to give up temporarily. For example, if your plan is to open a business at the end of the year, you may have to give up going to the movies or eating out for that year.
6. Make sure that you use the things that you are giving up temporarily as rewards. So, if you use the business goal as an example, if you were able to achieve your goals like choosing inventory, finishing your business plan or some other goal that moved your forward, use things like eating out and movies as a reward for your hard work.