My wife and I were talking to our eldest son about plagiarism, e.g. copy-paste from chatgpt.
Not that he does it, but he was arguing that “no one can tell”.
We talked about how it is an easy thing to do right now but it will hurt you in the long term.
I blurted out:
“easy now, hard later”
Very nice, I thought to myself. So self-satisfied :|
I then linked it to many things in his life:
- Exercise is hard now, but your body will work much better later.
- Saving pocket money is hard now, but your future self can buy bigger and better things.
- Studying hard now sucks but you will know more and get a better job down the road.
It’s probabilistic of course, but probably truism.
I checked in with chatgpt, who gave a great summary:
The phrase “easy now, hard later” refers to the idea that taking the path of least resistance or avoiding challenges in the present often leads to tougher consequences or more difficult situations down the road. It’s a reminder that the immediate ease we choose can create problems that will demand even more effort, time, or resources in the future. Conversely, if we do what’s harder now—like practicing discipline, learning new skills, or facing uncomfortable challenges—we often end up with fewer problems and an “easier” life later.
I then asked for popular aphorisms that capture this maxim, the best of the bunch was:
- “Short-term pain for long-term gain.”
A close second was:
- “The pain of discipline is less than the pain of regret.”
Nice.