Instant Gratification vs Delayed Gratification.

“The ability to discipline yourself to delay gratification in the short term in order to enjoy greater rewards in the long term is an indispensable prerequisite for success.”

As humans, we are short-sighted and yearn for returns almost instantly. There are several reasons behind the urge we have for receiving a reward for our actions at the earliest point possible.

Psychology studies show that a desire to avoid delay, uncertainty, poverty, impulsiveness and anticipation can all serve as factors which lead to a need for instant gratification. These elements play a vital role in influencing our need to demand returns and rewards immediately after we perform a task. I want to hang out with my friends and go to the movies right now, but I really want to be on the honor roll.

If my goal is to maximize my grades, then, hanging out with my friends right now as opposed to studying for a test tomorrow is the instant gratification and the honor roll is the delayed gratification. Both cannot be achieved, and a choice has to be made.

As children, when we’re told that we’ll receive a specific monetary benefit for carrying out a task, we become habitual of doing that task only. If you give a child fifty cents to take out the trash, they will just do the bare minimum because that’s what needs to be done to receive the compensation. This is a dangerous precedent that becomes programmed into our minds from childhood.

As we grow up, we continue to perform tasks only to the point where they are sufficient enough to provide us with a limited reward. Our need for instant gratification limits us quite badly and stops us from looking at a broader perspective. We put in the least amount of effort, get the task done only to the point necessary, we get our reward, and life goes on.

Exploring the Concept of Instant Gratification

Instant gratification is an innate behavior which people show unintentionally. The degree to which a person goes to receive an incentive might vary, but most of us are in search of rewards as soon as we’ve done something. Psychology studies have shown that shortly after birth, a process of conditioning begins. Several factors play a role in honing this trait in humans. While we’ve highlighted a few of these in the previous section, it is important to note that these elements shape our personality from an early age. Looking for immediate rewards for our actions becomes a habit. Reminiscing over our childhood when we reach a certain age, lays out some significant insights for us.

One of the first things we learn about instant gratification is that since it begins to develop while we are in our infancy, a chunk of responsibility for it falls upon our parents. As a mother or father raising children, being able to understand the consequences of instant rewards allows us to give our kids a better personality. Instant gratification is an abyss. Someone coming from a privileged background will know that they can ask and get whatever they want, whenever they want. And it’s not just kids who have wealthy parents. Every guardian does their best to provide the needs of children. This is the reason statistics show that eight in ten people are permanently held up in the paycheck to paycheck lifestyle.

The Drawbacks of Instant Gratification

Throughout our discussion so far, we’ve seen how instant gratification influences a lack of growth and development. It has a role to play in hindering our progress. From an early age, when we learn that instant gratification is a thing, and it feels good, we develop a taste for it. Eventually, we become oblivious to other concepts, which diverge from this idea of providing immediate rewards. Over time, as this becomes a daily routine, we realize that there are many other drawbacks to instant gratification. It’s not just about limiting our abilities, but there are other shortcomings which emerge from it. This behavior makes us blind to all other elements of relentless pursuit. Falling for instant gratification means that we don’t recognize and prepare for opportunities that are thrown our way.

Practicing Delayed Gratification

Delayed gratification is a practice which trains us for the relentless pursuit of our goals. This concept teaches us that a reward might not be around the corner. The gratification that we are looking for may come tomorrow, or it may present itself five years from now. Our goal in the meantime is to prepare for it. There are many things which count as preparation. In my experience, education takes precedence over everything. A college degree opens a world of opportunities for us. It is the first step in our preparation toward the accomplishment of our goals.

Many people dream about working for a Fortune 500 company, yet they fail to maintain a decent grade point average during college. This is not preparation. This is squandering of opportunities. Four years from now, that position you wanted is going to become available, but someone else will walk away with it because they were more prepared for it than you. When I talk about education, it’s not just schooling. Mark Twain once said, and I quote: “I never let my schooling get in the way of my education.” Did he mean that school hinders your education? No! He was referring to the fact that education goes way beyond what we learn at school.

Instant Gratification is always the lessor reward. Delayed Gratification is always the life altering reward. We will never truly maximize our full potential if we are always settling for what is easy. The Relentless Pursuit of our goals requires the discipline to sacrifice what it is that we want right now for what it is that we really want later.