Playing the Long Game
After a long hiatus here I am back with an intriguing read on having a long term vision.
They say a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. What they don't say is that the journey also needs to continue with such small steps. Few things in life are as powerful as having a good relationship with your conscience. The bigger fight we face is within ourselves and developing a conscience to play the long game is what is required the most. Backing yourself over a period of time is pivotal to get where you really want to be.
The Japanese have a culture in their companies that makes them value their reputation over anything else. And that is precisely why the oldest companies today are from Japan. It is because of the general long-term orientation: the culture of respecting tradition and ancestors, combined with the fact that it has been an island country with relatively limited interaction with other countries.
Today we live in a world where short term gains are all people really see and observe. Let’s take sport as an example:
All of us know T20 superstars but how few of us know about legends of Test Cricket?
All of us know that Usain Bolt is the fastest 100m runner but how few of us know the record holder for marathon running?
We only get a dopamine hit from short term pleasures whereas finding inner peace is achieved only over a period of time. Where attention spans have been reduced to 60 second reels, tiktoks, youtube shorts , sometimes giving hours to a particular thing seems tough and pointless. Yet having that drive is what ultimately makes the difference.
“When you do things consistently over “nights”, that’s when things change overnight!”
We often worry over not having time. But the truth is that do we underestimate and misallocate the time we have. Being a student , I have realised how every time you feel after a deadline that had you started with small steps it wouldn’t have been that tough in the end. This stands true for most things in life.
Having a fighting mindset in the midst of uncertainty is the true test of character and is also part of playing the long game. We’ve seen how during the Covid-19 waves we were struck by panic and sorrow all around. But still we had the researchers fighting through this whirlwind and coming up with a vaccine to fight the virus.
You can have a short term perspective that may not add up to the bigger picture but as steve jobs says: “You can’t connect the dots looking forward, you can only connect the dots looking backwards”. Sometimes a situation may look gloomy but have a survival mindest and in the end it does work out in your favour.
Perks of having a long term mindset is that you develop a shield towards setbacks and no longer are scared of smaller failures as long as they align. Let’s take China for an example, the Chinese civilisation has gone through several periods of upheavals and yet they have remained a dominant force throughout modern history and are now stronger than ever.Despite Covid-19 outbreak and geopolical challenges, the rise of China hasn’t been halted and it has only emerged as a much serious contender to the hegemony of the United States. Even in investing, we have seen Warren Buffet & Charlie Munger as a prime example of what wonders long term compounding can give. Most of their present wealth has been made after spending 5 decades in the stock market!
I’d like to sum up this blog post with an apt quote:
“The game is never over till it’s finally over!”
I hope reading this article wasn’t certainly a long game! Feedback much appreaciated.
