The 10-10-10 test: The 10-10-10 test asks: how will I feel about this decision in 10 minutes, in 10 months, and in 10 years?
Loud short-term, quiet long-term: Short-term feelings are loud. They shout. Long-term feelings are quiet, but they matter more.
Ask the three questions: Ask the three questions:
- In 10 minutes, how will I feel? (Often: relieved, excited, or embarrassed.)
- In 10 months, how will I feel? (Often: the excitement has faded, and the real cost is clear.)
- In 10 years, how will I feel? (Often: proud, or regretful — this is the voice to listen to.)
When answers differ, slow down: If the 10-year answer is very different from the 10-minute answer, slow down.
Example
Usman wants to quit in anger: Usman is angry after an argument at work. In 10 minutes, he wants to quit his job today.
In ten months, will he be glad: In 10 months, he asks himself: will I still be glad I left without another job ready? Probably not.
In ten years, proud or regretful: In 10 years, will quitting in anger be a story he is proud of? No.
Not quitting in anger: He decides not to quit in anger. He sleeps on it, and the next morning he talks calmly to his manager instead.
Key Terms
- 10-10-10 test (دس دس دس کا امتحان) — asking how you will feel in 10 minutes, 10 months, and 10 years
Fresh diagram to be drawn: A three-step timeline — 10 minutes, 10 months, 10 years — in Project Desk colours.
- Short-term feelings shout; long-term feelings matter more.
- If your 10-year answer is very different from your 10-minute answer, slow down.