Short term goals are simply managable chunks of your long term goal. So if I was practicing Patanjali’s ashtanga path I would divide my long term goal into the short term goal of mastering yama and niyamas, asana, pranayama, pratyhara, dharana, dhyana and samadhi. On the other hand if I am practicing Kriya Yoga which is taught technique by technique I first master the first technique, before moving onto the next.
Either way how fast I get to my long term goal depends on how quickly I complete my series of short term goals. This is directly proportional to how much effort I put in. If I do things slowly I will get to my goal slowly.
I feel perhaps you have missed the point of what Buddha meant when he said all is suffering. He meant that as long as we are in samsara we are always suffering. What should a sensible person do when they put their hand in fire(not very sensible in the first, but lets work with it), do they keep their hand in fire or do they retract their hand from the fire? Likewise, when a sensible knows they are suffering, they seek to end that suffering as quickly as they can. Just as Buddha did.
We do not have all the time in the world to wait around or do things at a slow leisurely pace. In fact, anytime, this body could be over. I told this to my friend recently who like you was telling me, “We don’t have to rush, we can go at our own pace. We are eternal beings” I responded with the traditional Eastern answer, “a journey of a thousand miles begins with one step” he has to start sometime. What he does not realise that his procrastination of starting the spiritual process is creating a habit of procrastination in his mind which will get stronger and stronger. Before he knows it, his time will be up, he will have to come back and start the whole process again with an even stronger karma against him. This is why I have realised now that I know what the goal of my soul is to start the journey as soon as possible. I have made the mental commitment and now I am in the process of making the physical commitment.
My friends who know me well know that I will succeed, because they know my will power is very strong. If I resolve on something, I do it. I was non vegetarian for most of my life. One day when I reached mental realization that meat was not good for my soul, I stopped eating meat within a heartbeat. Never looked back since. Not even had thoughts of wanting meat. Never had any problems. Similarly, I can just by willing it stop drinking alcohol, abstain from sex for as long as I want, without having any cravings. I know few people in my life that have will power as strong as I do. This is probably because I have a very strong soul.
Real spirituality, in my opinion is only for those who have intensity, commitment and direction. The rest practice ordinary worldly living and pretend to be spiritual. I will admit at this moment I am not really spiritual. I am practicing ordinary wordly living like everybody else. I am no more enlightened than your average joe. However, when it comes to mental realization I am more than your average joe.
