How Immediate Gratification Is Ruining Your Life – And Tools To Help
Can you resist the siren call of immediate gratification – when it comes to food, love, lust, money, Facebook, texting etc? Chances are if you’re having a problem right now in your life, it’s due to your needing to practice better impulse control. Read on…
The other evening I told my 4 year old son it was time to brush his teeth.
His reply: “I’m sorry, mom. I’m just not feeling it right now.”
Yes, my son is 4 going on 16!
The truth: It doesn’t matter if you’re 4 or 16 or 116. Often the most important things we all need to do wind up double-dutying as things we do not feel like doing.
Quickie Examples From My Own I-Don’t-Want To Do List…
- Clean up
- Exercise
- Eat less chocolate
- Do work
- Shop within a budget
- Work on taxes
- Share a “loving, courageous dialogue” with my partner
When I look at this list, I can clearly see how my biggest opportunities for happiness and growth are consistently preceded by a big, whiny:
“But I’m just not feeling it right now!”
The reason we feel resistance?
It’s far more fun to seek immediate gratification – than to delay gratification – even if we know there’s an awesome longer-term benefit awaiting.
Examples of “a longer term benefit”:
- Brush teeth = no holes in your teeth
- Clean up = live in a comfy home and know where the heck things are
- Exercise = be healthy & energized
- Don’t eat too much chocolate = no sugar high followed by fatigue plunge & weight gain
- Do work = pride & success & ability to pay for comfy home, food and coffee
- Shop within a budget = ability to keep on paying for comfy home, food and coffee
- Work on taxes = certainty that I will stay living in my comfy home
- Share a “loving, courageous dialogue” with my partner = more loving, longer-lasting relationship
We all recognize that hard work, patience and willpower are important.
Yet, when given the choice between chocolate versus salad – or sleeping late versus working out – we’re often tempted to choose the thing which feels good in the moment.
The result:
We can go through life choosing what’s easy instead of what’s right – and wind up mightily disappointed.
The truth:
Often the hardest thing and the most right thing are the same exact thing! You should never sacrifice what you want most in life, in swap for what you want now.
A comfort zone might be nice place to hang out in – but nothing truly awesome ever grows there.
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