Live in the now or go long-term

On one hand, living in the now, focusing on satisfying our urges, seems the most natural way to live. Our instincts are strong, and at times, it feels that living on a long term basis is just absurd: who can promise that what we set out, what we envision things to be, may differ greatly in the end.

As my uncle likes to say:" we make plans, and god just laughs".

On the other hand, living a life without a way to delay gratification, to bite lips and carry on with something we hate doing, is the most likely way for us to reach an outcome that we want. So many things require us to make a set up. We just can't get things to work by living in the now. Living in the now is living with total abandon. It's fun, but it is with only one kind of fun.