How do I get people bought into long term impact? So the best way is not to tell them about the potential long term benefits, but to show them. Seeing is believing, at least for most people. The long term benefits though of doing particular habits and practices or implementing some structure / process is not necessarily seen directly. Instead, it's best 'seen' by the absence of negative consequences. Being healthy is only seen as a benefit when compared to the idea of being unhealthy. Having deep, meaningful connections with people is only a distinguishable positive when juxtaposed against shallow, meaningless relationships.
We can't then make the connection between what we do and who we become. All those micro-thoughts and actions and micro-decisions have an impact on the long term, whether we intend on it or not. Those positive habits raise the floor of our long term outcome. Or another way to think of it is the opposite way. Our floor is at 100% to start. Every negative habit, detrimental action brings that floor down. The thing is people don't see the habits behind the success of people who are their role models. They think it magically clicked or the stars aligned.
What if someone could see ALL of the habits of someone as they were on their journey of external and internal growth? Would that be good enough to show them the long term impact and benefits? To witness an ever-raising floor? Or a never-lowering floor?
Ok, so what do people believe in now if they don't believe in long term impact? They may believe that short term benefits will remedy the situation. They may believe that short term impact will automatically translate to long term impact and happiness. So then it's about addressing those beliefs, if they are indeed accurate.
How do you address those beliefs about short term gratification implying long term fulfillment? Maybe use their own life as a case study for when you were happy in the moment when something you wanted happened but it didn't sustain as long as you thought it would. Maybe ask them how long was the longest time you've been happy? What was the cause of that happiness? If those causes are internal, maybe they can notice that that happiness feels different and lasts longer.
Do you want sustainable happiness or intermittent happiness? New interpretation of sustainability here in regards to happiness, not just the environment. Show them that they can experience happiness twice as long as they had previously. Then twice as long as that. And so on. Just gotta start small and incremental with their level of happiness sustainability, then increase from there.
Hmm, a happiness sustainability score? The longest you can go being truly happy? How long you can go without dipping below a certain amount of happiness? That would be in line with a raised floor model. Interesting, I'll leave it here for now.
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