The short answer to this question is that it is essential to make long-range plans while concurrently executing well within the short-term. Yet, with this in mind, it is still readily possible to describe a person as either characteristically emphasizing the former or the latter. I personally have to plead guilty to favoring a long-term outlook. Perhaps this derives in part from my great admiration for big dreamers who lift their sites using long-term ambitions. A long-term perspective sets short-term actions within a field of values. This sense of fundamental stability is a basic need for most humans, or so I believe. For humans have a need not only to successfully maneuver around the next bend, but a need to consistently follow a guiding star for deliverance from the daily maze. Jesus spoke of people being lost. It is easy to get lost in the daily maze when absent a guiding star. Principled purpose is a practical psychological need that complements the physical needs of food, clothing, and shelter.
