- It’s a new year, and you took a resolution to lose weight, but after a few days, giving up on cake and waking up early to workout doesn’t feel worth it. You also thought you’d start a business, but that’s too much work, and Netflix and chilling feel much easy and better, so you got a little lazy now and then and started giving up on your goals. This is instant gratification because you settle for something or someone that will please you right away.
- This is not entirely your fault because we’re all wired to seek pleasure and avoid pain. So, as a result, we postpone our responsibilities or avoid them. We all want that high-calorie treat, wake up late, and go to bars and clubs to party with friends. But during these times, we need to remind ourselves what we’re giving up when we choose instant gratification and if it’s even worth it?
- On the other hand, delayed gratification is the act of embracing hard work and pain now to better ourselves for the future. The only way to achieve long-term goals and success is by giving up on your instant gratification.
- The solution is to understand your urges and reward them more timely. For example, suppose you’re addicted to social media. In that case, you can set the alarm to allow yourself to consume only after completing a specific set of tasks or probably a few minutes of social media after working for an hour. You have a limited time, so either you can work on a project or take the easy way out. But how long do you have to delay? Only you can answer that by weighing the costs and benefits of everything you do and by knowing your end goal. Having solid discipline is essential, especially during emotional stress, because that’s when we usually give in to our urges to make ourselves feel better.
- So, what are your values? What are you working towards? What do you want to achieve? What makes you get out of bed in the morning? Unless you can answer them, you won’t be able to make sacrifices.
But that’s just my take. Comment and share yours.
If this topic interests you and you’re curious to learn more – check out this book through this Amazon affiliate link that I thoroughly enjoyed – Irresistible: The Rise of Addictive Technology and the Business of Keeping Us Hooked
