You Can’t Escape the Consequences of Your Repeated Behaviour.

“In nature, there are neither rewards nor punishments; there are {only} consequences.”—Robert Green Ingersoll

More than anything else, the way we act expresses who we are and foretells who we shall become. Our behaviour, when repeated long enough will become a habit, which in turn forms our character and eventually determines our inescapable destiny.  

In the book, “Long-Term Thinking for a Shortsighted World,” the author Jim Brumm writes on the dangers of not thinking with foresight about the future consequences of our behaviours. And I quote his stated observation in the next statement. He said: “We are overfeeding the present by stealing from the future.”

I don’t know about you but I think what he said is true for a lot of people.

Whims and impulses tend to ridiculously influence many of our present actions but if we refuse to change for the better, long-term consequences of our behaviours will later bring greater discomforts to our future selves.

This article is about deciding to guide our behaviours with wisdom and intelligence as opposed to feelings and emotions. I have learned—the hard way—that in the long run, living by principles brings promise but living by feelings brings regrets.

An accurate prediction of the eventual outcome of actions is the product of right thinking. And individuals we believe to be wise are the ones who think accurately about the consequences of their actions. They are the ones whose behaviours are predominantly wholesome; and they are the ones who will make necessary adjustments in their areas of weaknesses because of their thorough understanding of the concept of consequence. They are the ones who constantly live with the end in mind.

Like them, keeping the end in mind will help us make better choices on changing any behaviour that may not get us what we want from life. In the same vein, it will help us continue to nurture the one that is better for a great future. And from now on, knowing what we now know, you and I can start to modify our behaviours for the best of future consequences, one step at a time.

One way to do that is by choosing a key behaviour in an important area of our lives, and ask ourselves the following simple question:

“What are the possible consequences of this very behaviour to me in the next 40 years?”

For example….

Business:

If I start and continue a specific customer-pleasing behaviour in my firm, what will be the consequences of that habit on my profit in the next 40 years?

Health:

If I habituate myself to consuming sugary drinks, snacks and processed foods of assorted brands, what will be the consequences of that behaviour on my wellbeing in the next 40 years?

Relationship:

If I get used to being superficially interested in other people and always putting my personal interests ahead of everyone’s, what will be the consequences of that behaviour to the health of my relationships in the next 40 years?

When we answer that question sincerely, the next question for us to answer is: “Am I  willing to accept the possible future consequences or not?” 

If the consequences are good, we can continue the behaviour, but if they are not so good, then we must change. The moment we get crystal clarity on the end result of our behaviour is the very moment we have a forceful push to modify the behaviour. And wise individuals are those who are willing to make that change; delaying gratification today so they can reap greater rewards tomorrow. Whereas, mediocrities are the irrationally stubborn folk, hell-bent on immediate gratification and only the comforts of today. 

I know, polemics can argue for and against both immediate and delayed gratification but what no one can argue against are the proportionate consequences of our actions, irrespective of the underlying philosophy in doing them. This is why the English social thinker, John Ruskin said, “What we think or what we know or what we believe is in the end of little consequence. The only thing of {major} consequence is what we do.”

Therefore, knowing that there are serious future consequences of our behaviour is paramount to making the necessary improvements in how we live today. And if we are wise, we will force ourselves to make those improvements now because as George Elliot, the English poet, long discovered, “Consequences are unpitying.” And worse still, we can’t escape them.