You don’t need to ___ because you are already ___.

“You have to be careful,” warns Clayton Christensen in How Will You Measure Your Life?

When things are going well with your friends and family. When your kids are doing well. When your spouse is happy. You have to be careful. 

“When it seems like everything at home is going well, you will be lulled into believing that you can put your investments in these relationships onto the back burner. That would be an enormous mistake.” 

I’m in good shape for forty-one. In December I ran a 1:37 half-marathon, impressing myself. 

But my neighbors say I don’t need to run because I’m already fit. 

The causality is backward. 

The Millionaire Next Door profiles people with large net worths and how they did it. They invested, worked smart and hard, and checked their expenses. They wore simple watches, drove older cars, and traveled simply. You don’t need to live so cheaply, their nosey neighbors might note, you’re already rich. 

Parts of How Will You Measure Your Life? are about the “dilemma” between short and long-term incentives. Measuring your life is a long-term game that needs long-term incentives. And “you don’t need to… because you are already…” is backward logic. 

You need to.