Patience, perspective, and staying connected to the consequences of our actions are not our strong suits as humans. We struggle, in particular, with the delay of consequences.
Rationally, we know our actions have consequences. We accept the concept. Like most things, it's in the reality of daily execution where our struggle lives.
It's common for people to put little or no effort into disciplined behaviors when they don't see beneficial consequences quickly enough. They want more immediate gratification.
It's easy for people to continue undisciplined behaviors when they don't experience any harmful consequences from it in the moment. They pay no immediate price for lack of discipline.
In both cases, beneficial discipline and harmful lack of discipline, the delay between actions and consequences fools people.
It's like a form of purgatory between action and consequence. The mind is left to wander and wonder, where it doubts, second-guesses, rationalizes, and justifies. In this place, the practical connection between actions and the results of actions gets distorted.
Consequences don't go away, but sometimes we lose touch with their relationship to our behavior. Actions have consequences. Just because you don't see them yet, doesn't mean they're not coming.
Share your thoughts