There was this young man that I read about. He went into business, and he wanted to make quick money. Instead of him to learn much and about the business and grow in it, he decided to use dishonest ways to attract customers in order to make fast money. At first, it seemed like he was making money and that his plans worked, but it was not long and people discovered the truth. This made people to lose trust in him, he lost customers too, which ultimately led to the collapse of his business. The shortcut may have given him temporary results, but it also created a longer problem for him. This goes to prove that shortcuts are not always the right cut.
Image from Pexels
You will be surprised how lots of people are attracted to shortcut because it promises quick results with little efforts. In the world of today, it looks like a lot of people want quick success, easy solutions, instant rewards, etc, so shortcuts seem to be desirable. However, what they fail to understand is that, while shortcuts may seem to provide a form of temporary satisfaction or seem like saving time momentarily, they may open one up to some long-term problems. You have to understand that a lot of the important things in life will definitely require patience, discipline, and following the due process in order to be achieved.
Shortcuts only focus on the immediate gain or on temporary satisfaction, without considering long-term consequences that may arise. For example, you may see someone skip learning, avoid hard work, skip preparation, or even avoid following important steps, yet they want to achieve a sustainable result, how possible will it be? You cannot ignore the required processes and the steps and hope to get the desired result. In building a house for example, you cannot ignore the foundation and hope to go straight to the walls and the roof. In fact, if the foundation is weak, the building may not even last. In the same way in life, it is the process that you skip that ultimately weakens the results you get.
A student may feel like following shortcuts in their education; like trying to cheat their way through, without studying. Even though they may pass the exam at the moment, but over time, they will struggle even beyond their academics, because they really did not learn the knowledge or the skill that they needed. You see, the shortcuts they took may have provided them with just some temporary results, but created long-term weakness and regrets that they did not anticipate. There are things you cannot achieve or sustain without going through the right process. For example, you cannot plant a tree and harvest in the same month, it has to take time, maybe years, for it to grow and mature.
This same thing also happens in personal growth. It is true that many people want confidence, success, development, discipline, character, or even maturity. But this kind of growth cannot be rushed. Imagine someone who wants to build muscles but will no lift weight, no workout, no gyming, nothing at all, how will they achieve it? In life, there are due processes you have to follow, and these will take time. Learning skills takes time, building character takes time, even becoming a better person will also require time and experience. When an individual skips these processes, they may become unprepared for the opportunities that may come their way.
Image from Pexels
Shortcuts can also damage trust, just like the example of the businessman I gave earlier. In business, professional life, or even in relationships, dishonest shortcut may produce temporary results, but it can destroy credibility later. Trust may take time to build, but it can be destroyed quickly by just one wrong action. This is the reason you have to consider the long-term effects of the actions you want to take in the present. Do not sacrifice the long-term effects for just some short term results. This does not mean you should not work smart or look for easier way to complete a task. There is a difference between shortcuts and wisdom. Wise strategies will improve efficiency, while still respecting the processes, not completely abandoning them. So learn to respect the process.
Thanks for reading
