On the Difference Between Short-Term and Long-Term Success
We all want to succeed, but what is success, really? At first glance, the answer seems obvious – but only at first glance. Because the way we answer this question determines another one as well: how to achieve success. Different means lead to different kinds of success.
One such distinction is between short-term and long-term success. I had not reflected on this difference until I read Stephen Covey’s book, in which he shows how the understanding of success has changed over time, shaping the views and beliefs of entire generations. According to him, there are two different views of what lies at the foundation of success, which he calls the character ethic and the personality ethic. It is precisely the difference between them that determines whether the success achieved will be long-lasting or short-lived.
“The character ethic teaches that there are basic principles of effective living, and that people can achieve true success and enduring happiness only by learning and integrating these principles into the core of their character. It emphasizes qualities such as integrity, humility, fidelity, temperance, courage, justice, patience, industriousness, simplicity, modesty, and the Golden Rule: ‘Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.’
Shortly after World War I, however, the generally accepted understanding of success underwent a shift – from the Character Ethic to what we might call the Personality Ethic. Success became a function of personality, of public image, of attitudes and behaviors, of skills and techniques that facilitate human interaction. The Personality Ethic contains two primary paths: one is techniques for social interaction and public relations; the other is positive mental attitude. Some of this philosophy is expressed in inspiring and sometimes valid maxims such as: ‘Your attitude determines your altitude,’ or ‘Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve.’ Other elements are overtly manipulative, encouraging people to use techniques to get others to like them or to get what they want. Character is acknowledged as one of the ingredients of success, but not as its foundational basis.”
The difference between long-term and short-term success is like the difference between short-term and long-term effort.
Covey explains that after World War II, American culture increasingly came to believe that with little effort and in a short time one could achieve success, provided one knew the right techniques for influencing others. This belief lies at the core of the Personality Ethic. It can indeed lead to rapid and impressive results, but the difficulty arises later – when these quickly achieved successes must be sustained. It is precisely then that the need for the new (old) paradigm of the Character Ethic and timeless principles becomes apparent.
“The Character Ethic is based on the fundamental idea that there are principles that govern human effectiveness, and that these principles are as natural, real, immutable, and unarguable in the world of human relationships as the law of gravity is in the physical world.”
This makes it clear why one ethic leads to long-term success, while the other leads to short-term success. Because success in life is regulated by moral laws, even though this is not always visible – and sometimes it even appears to be the opposite. Yet this is only the surface appearance. When we look at the larger picture, we can see that the truth is exactly the reverse.
This is why contemporary corporate America has turned to Stephen Covey’s work for guidance in resolving its problems. And here Covey quotes Einstein:
“Significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them or when they arose.”
In other words, problems created by the Personality Ethic, with its short-term effects, can only be resolved through actions grounded in the Character Ethic – actions that arise from correct principles, from enduring human values.
Another important point Covey makes about success is the need to examine what we truly value. What we value is what we strive for and what we associate with success. He uses the metaphor of climbing a ladder that is leaning against the wrong wall. When we finally reach the top, we realize that our achievements do not bring us the sense of fulfillment or of a fully lived life that we expected.
That is why the second habit of highly effective people is: “Begin with the end in mind.”
The answer to this question is the answer to what success truly means for us – long-term success.
Kameliya Hadzhiyska
