The Power of Delayed Gratification
It’s not often that difficult, It’s mostly only a matter of priority. Poor people choose now, rich people choose later.
This is why we need to replace our mental “material gratification” files with “financial freedom” files.
On a smaller scale, how about replacing immediate material gratification with delayed material gratification?
The truth is, with the right process in place, you have a higher chance of achieving more when you delay some things for later.
What I mean in this context is that instead of going for a ‘movie in the park event’, how about you save up for a vacation in Ghana?
Prior to now, I would choose the former. I have spent the last 11 months in 2022 satisfying my immediate cravings but just realized now that I have barely ticked off anything from my bucket list. And now somehow, I am more interested in saving towards bigger gratification like a quarterly vacation in a neighboring country.
This way, I not only get to tick off something from my bucket list but the mere thought of traveling in a few months’ time is quite a great motivation to stay productive at work, improve my savings culture and give a better account of how I spent money satisfying my material needs.
By so doing, it ultimately improves our inclination to save toward material gratification in a way that tilts towards financial freedom.
I know you are about to ask me what I meant by that so now how about I ask you a question first?
What is the probability of you attending the next Afro Nation music festival you have always thought of?
Or the likelihood of your being present at the next FIFA world cup in 2026?
Either this is very unlikely because you can’t afford it or very possible because you probably would have gotten a better job with better pay.
Even if that were the case, there is still a high chance you won’t achieve it. But to reduce this uncertainty means delaying your material cravings Now, for Later!
It involves the consistent saving of a certain proportion of your income to be invested in an income-generating account for the purpose of satisfying your material goal in the future.
Firstly, there is now a higher chance of ticking it off your bucket list; Secondly, the need to meet up with your target encourages you to even save more, and Most importantly, the returns you earn from Investing toward your goal expose you to the magic of compounding thereby encouraging you to invest more.
As much as I am interested in Dettying this December, I am more excited about the possibility of spending a vacation in Rwanda next year.
Let me know in the comment section if this is enough reason to discourage you from attending Asake’s concert. Lol!
