(Transcribed by TurboScribe. Go Unlimited to remove this message.)
(0:00 - 0:36)
This is Goals in Grace with Certified High Performance Coach, Rev. Dr. Juliet Spencer. One practical framework and a faith truth to cut overwhelm and claim your calling. Ready to lead with love, not depletion? Let's go! You know that moment when you know what the right long-term decision is, but something in you still reaches for the easier, quicker, more immediate option? Not because you don't have discipline, not because you don't love God, but because in that moment, the short-term feels louder than the truth.
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Let me say something that might reframe this for you completely. Most of your off-track decisions are not about weakness. They're about misaligned time horizons.
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You're not choosing between good and bad. You're choosing between what feels good now and what will serve you later. And both of those options have a voice.
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Let's name exactly what's happening here. Short-term choices relieve pressure, soothe emotion, and give you a sense of control. Long-term choices build trust, create alignment, and require patience.
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And here's the truth. Short-term choices often feel like relief, but they quietly create the very pressure you're trying to escape. Let me make this real for a moment.
You know that moment when you need to have a hard conversation with a team member, a client, or even someone you love? Short-term choice? Avoid it. Keep the peace. Tell yourself it can wait.
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And in the moment, that feels easier. But over time, misalignment grows, frustration builds, and resentment quietly takes root. And here's another place this shows up.
Your calendar. You already feel stretched and someone asks for your time. Short-term choice? Say yes, because it's easier than disappointing someone.
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But long-term, you're over-committed, distracted, and showing up half-present everywhere. And this one might hit a little closer to home. You know there's something God is nudging you toward.
A new level in your work or greater visibility. Stepping into leadership more fully. Short-term choice? Stay where it's comfortable.
Stay where it's predictable. But long-term? You stay in a version of yourself you've already outgrown. I've seen this play out so clearly with one of my clients.
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She felt called to go back to school again. She already had multiple degrees. And short-term? It felt uncomfortable.
It felt embarrassing. Like she should have already figured it out by now. Everything in her wanted to avoid that feeling.
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But she listened to what God wanted and was doing in her. She chose the long-term over the short-term discomfort. She took the step anyway.
And today, she's doing work that fulfills her deeply. And she's earning three times what she was before. That's what long-term alignment does.
It asks more of you in the moment, but it gives more back than you could possibly imagine. Let's go a layer deeper for a moment because this is where it gets honest. Short-term decisions often come from discomfort, fear, fatigue, or the desire to feel in control.
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And long-term decisions require trust, restraint, and, often, courage. This is where Scripture speaks so clearly into this tension. 2 Corinthians 4, verse 18 says, We look not at what can be seen, but at what cannot be seen.
For what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal. In other words, what you can see is the short-term, the immediate reaction, the quick relief, the visible outcome. But what you cannot yet see is the long-term, the trust being built, the character being formed, and alignment taking root, goals taking shape and coming to fruition.
This is where I want to gently challenge you. You are not stuck because you don't know what to do. You're stuck because in the moment, the temporary feels more urgent than the eternal.
The temporary feels more important and more palatable than long-term waiting. Let me say that even more directly. You don't need more discipline.
You need more clarity about who you are when you're at your best. Because when your identity is clear, decisions get simpler, not easier, but clearer. So, when you feel that pull toward the short-term, pause and just name it.
This is a short-term versus a long-term decision. Believe it or not, just naming it creates space. And then ask yourself, what will my future self thank me for? Not your overwhelmed self, not your tired self, your aligned self.
And I also like to ask, what will the people who love me thank me for? Let me give you one more example because this one is subtle. Think about emotional reactions. You're frustrated.
Something didn't go the way you expected. The short-term choice, vent, react, release in the moment. And it feels justified.
But over time, trust erodes, your influence weakens, and you may find yourself repairing something that didn't need to be broken. But the long-term choice, pause, breathe, respond intentionally. And what that builds is something far more powerful than relief.
It builds respect from others and for yourself. And this doesn't just show up at work, it shows up at home too. If you're a parent, you know this moment.
You're in the grocery store, your child wants that sugary donut, and dinner is only 30 minutes away. Short-term choice, say yes, keep the peace, avoid the scene. In that moment, it feels easier.
But what's happening long-term? You're teaching them that pressure changes your answer, that immediate desire overrides better judgment, and that boundaries are flexible when emotions get loud. Or maybe it's your teenager. They want to go to the concert two towns over, no adult, the night before a big test.
Short-term choice, say yes, because it avoids conflict, because you want to keep the relationship smooth. But long-term, it sends a mixed message about responsibility, about safety, and about the standards you actually want to hold. Here's the important part.
This isn't about being rigid, it's about being clear. Because every short-term yes that isn't aligned, quietly reshapes what they believe is true. So let's bring this down to one clear truth.
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There's nothing wrong with wanting relief, but there is a difference between rest that restores you, and relief that delays you. And if you're honest, you already know which one you're choosing in the moment. So here's what I want you to do today.
Don't try to overhaul everything, but the next time you feel that pull, just choose one long-term aligned action, just one. Send the email, say the honest thing, take the first step, close the distraction, follow through. Because long-term lives are not built in dramatic decisions, they're built in small choices, repeated with integrity.
And here's what I want to leave you. You don't build confidence by waiting until you feel ready. You build confidence by choosing what's aligned, even when it's uncomfortable.
So the next time you feel that tension, remember, you're not choosing between easy and hard. You're choosing between what feels good now, and what will serve the life God is calling you to in the future. And that, that's a decision we're slowing down for.
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Let's choose the version of you your future will thank you for, and take the next step today. If you find this helpful, I hope you'll share it with a friend. And if coaching would help you make those choices more easily and more consistently, individual coaching will be geared just to that.
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If you'd like to reach out to me for a free coaching call, my link is in the show notes and in my bio. Thanks for listening, my friend, and may God bless you in the short term and the long term with goals and grace.
(Transcribed by TurboScribe. Go Unlimited to remove this message.)
