Planning Your Future: The 10 Year Filter

Greg Clement
Apr 2
3 min read

Most people make decisions based on one of two things: how they feel in the moment, or what will get them the fastest win.

It’s natural. We all want the dopamine hit. The yes-now payoff. The applause. The security. The comfort.

But here’s the deal: if you only make decisions based on what’s right in front of you, you’ll look up in 10 years and wonder where your time, energy, and potential went. Start planning your future.

The most successful, fulfilled people I know don’t make reactive decisions. They run everything through what I call The 10-Year Filter.

Zoom Out Before You Burn Out

When you’re staring down a big decision—whether it’s a career change, a business pivot, a move, a relationship shift—your nervous system will scream for safety. It’ll want you to stay where it’s predictable. It’ll rationalize the easy way out.

But zooming out changes everything.

Ask yourself this:

"If I keep doing what I’m doing right now, where will I be in 10 years?"

It’s such a simple question. But it’s a brutal mirror. Because if the honest answer is still stuck, still miserable, still wishing I had gone for it, then you have your answer.

You don’t need a life coach to tell you what to do—you need perspective.

Make Decisions That Compound

When I was younger, I initially liked chasing the quick wins.. And to be fair, some of that paid off. But the real freedom—the kind where your life starts working for you instead of you working for your life—came when I started thinking in decades, not days.

Want to see your life really change?

Build something that gets stronger with time—a business, a marriage, your health, your network.
Invest in assets that grow while you sleep.
Choose some discipline now so you can choose freedom later.

The boring stuff is the freedom stuff. That’s the truth nobody on Instagram wants to talk about.

Apply the Filter to Everything

Let’s get practical. Here’s how to use the 10-Year Filter in everyday decision-making:

Health: Will I be grateful I took care of my body 10 years from now—or will I be paying for my neglect?
Wealth: Am I building income-producing assets or just chasing income?
Relationships: Is this relationship growing me—or draining me?
Time: Am I spending it on things that matter—or letting it slip away with distractions?

Sometimes the 10-Year Filter feels like a slap. But sometimes it feels like rocket fuel. Either way, it pulls you forward.

The Secret Nobody Talks About

Everyone wants success. But the people who actually get it are the ones willing to delay gratification.

You want the thrill of quitting your job tomorrow—but the smarter move might be to build your side hustle quietly for 12 months first.

You want the six-pack—but the better play is just being consistent with 30 minutes of movement a day.

You want the “dream life”—but are you building it in a way that holds up 10 years from now?

Most of life is just a series of trade-offs between what feels good now and what feels incredible later.