The greatest barrier to long-term growth is making short-term decisions that do not build leverage but instead entangle the clarity of long-term purpose.
We make decisions that shape our future commitments. Therefore, making decisions rooted in the long term is essential for sustainable growth.
One of the reasons we tend to make short-term decisions is our desperation for quick gains, which often arises from emotional dysregulation.
Therefore, maintaining a regulated and grounded state is essential to grow in the long term.
Grounding allows a person to derive their sense of worth and meaning from the essence of their work rather than from validation from the crowd.
If a person is well regulated, they can sustain efforts that build long-term leverage.
A regulated person becomes a better leader, a better thinker, a better worker, a better lover, and ultimately, a better human being.
This allows us to build for the long term. As Charlie Munger wisely said:
“The first rule of compounding is to never interrupt it unnecessarily.”