Short-Term Pain vs. Long-Term Pain

Three Point Essay | Realizations to make for a good life

Photo by Tony Detroit on Unsplash

Pleasure is not a problem.

Dopamine is not a problem.

Too much pleasure experienced too often, without effort exerted to experience or achieve that pleasure is definitely a problem, however. It lowers our baseline level of dopamine & the potency of all experiences.

Work for it.

—Andrew Huberman

I.

Humans tend to overestimate short-term pain and underestimate long-term pain. This is a dangerous tendency.

Sure, this morning, you avoid the pain of lifting weights. But in 10 years when you’re fat, ugly, and in poor health, that'll be more painful.

Sure, today, you avoid the embarrassment of finally launching your brand. But when you're old and bitter with a job you despise and too many obligations to take a risk on something you care about, that'll be more painful.

Sure, this afternoon, you avoid ‘not being informed’ by spending lots of time checking the news and social media. But over time when your phone addiction becomes so out-of-control that you can’t even concentrate on anything, that’ll be more painful.

Sure, tonight, you avoid the ‘fear of missing out’ by going to the same bar you’ve been to a million times. But in 10 years when you're still not wealthy and you realize you could’ve used weekend time while everyone was partying to be productive, that'll be more painful.

The long term pain is worse. It's not even close. You always hear that life is short. It is. Thing is, life is also long.

II.

Consider leaders, athletes, or anyone you admire. Without exception, they're people who delay gratification and think long-term. Who avoid excess pleasures and distractions, to stay focused on their purpose. Whether you realize it or not, that’s one reason why they’re your heroes.

We spend so much time seeking pleasure and trying to avoid pain moment to moment. But by doing so, we create so much more pain in the future. Way worse pain. James Clear wisely said “as a general rule, the more immediate pleasure you get from an action, the more you should question whether it aligns with your long-term goals.”

I’m only 22. But I’ve already seen many people die. They’re still breathing, but they’re already dead.

They died the death of a thousand cuts. The thousand cuts of fun. The thousand cuts of social media scrolling, video games, porn, weed, junk food, and other cheap dopamine spikes. Their brains are short-circuited. Their existence one of an unmotivated and unproductive vegetable. By constantly seeking instant gratification and avoiding any form of discomfort, they continue to compound long-term pain.

III.

It’s simple—over the long run, habitually doing difficult things is more rewarding than doing easy things.

Every day you have a choice. It’s easy to choose to sit on your couch, drink a beer, and rub your belly for some reason. It’s hard to choose to educate yourself, build a business, get in shape etc. but the rewards are fantastic.

Easy choices, hard life. Hard choices, easy life, so it’s said.