The other day I was trying to fix a bug on our website that was causing a picture to look distorted. Being in a hurry, I fixed the problem quickly with a solution that I knew had worked in the past.

After saving the changes, I checked the updated page and realized that, by making the one change, which fixed my immediate problem, I had impacted other sections of the page, which changed the overall look of the site.

This is an example of first and second (and third and so on) order consequences...

The solution that I picked to fix the problem resolved the immediate problem...the first order consequence...

What I didn't take into account was how it would impact other parts of the page...the second and third order consequences...which lead me to have to go back and spend more time fixing the solution to my previous problem by finding a solution to the second problem.

All actions in life have consequences beyond the immediate moment...and when you pick the "less effective" action, many times you have to spend MORE time and effort cleaning up the mess after the fact.

ACTION:

When you're making big decisions in life, think past the immediate moment...ask yourself "what are the second and third order consequences if I make this decision VS that decision?"