the Pine vs. the Sequoia

If you are anywhere near me in age then you too are a product of what I will call the “Instant” generation. As a generation we have grown up with everything ready and at our disposal in an instant; instant messaging, instant meals, instant delivery… everything ready at the moment we want it, and because of this as a generation we suffer from “Instant Gratification”. 

Symptoms of “Instant Gratification” include, but are not limited to:

· Lack of patience

· Lack of foresight

· Lack of loyalty

· Easily frustrated, etc.

And although instant gratification feels wonderful in that moment, we continue on in our ways much to the future detriment of ourselves. We have lost the joy of sewing the seeds and watching a small sapling grow into a giant Sequoia. No one wants to dig in the dirt and get their hands dirty to even plant the seed and rather than waiting years for what will eventually become the marvelous Sequoia, we would rather have an everyday backyard Pine instantly instead. Some aren’t even aware that they could grow a Sequoia – the everyday Pine is all they know.

It isn’t until that moment where we plant that seed and give up on it thinking it was never going to grow only to return later in our travels to that spot to find General Sherman (Worlds Largest Sequoia Tree) before us where we forgot we had planted the seed, that we realize the beauty of long-term investment. We have become so accustomed to putting in little work and having things immediately that many of us don’t know the worth of putting in work on the “ground level” in hopes to reap the benefits of our labor further down the line. Those who put in little work for immediate return are stuck continuing that never-ending cycle of little work, little return. Accomplishing great things takes great time, but once you have reached that goal your return will be far greater than you could imagine and now for that same little work you put in your return will be tri-fold, all because of initial hard work and patience.