Delayed Gratification is the resistance or the ability to Self-Regulate the temptation of immediate pleasure and is one of the most effective personal skill sets of successful people.
Those that delay gratification or Join the resistance are more successful in ALL areas of life.
Knowing how to delay pleasure to serve a more important and more gratifying goal makes all the difference in achieving that goal.
Your ability to self-regulate will massively impact all your future plans.
Delayed gratification is a muscle you can and MUST grow to serve your future self.
Studies have shown that the ability to delay reward is present in phenomenally successful people.
The following are the five domains of Delayed Gratification:
1. Food
37.7% of Americans are suffering from obesity and chronic diseases. The Fast-Food Culture has taken over society and made it EASY for people to Instantly Gratify their hunger with Junk Food! The American Cancer Society linked time constraints and lack of planning to the decrease of healthy, home-prepared meals.
It requires considerable effort to override the instant gratification and satiating, low-nutrient food that is readily available in favor of better overall health.
Peak performance takes an extreme delay of gratification.
2. Physical Pleasures
Rates of addiction are soaring. Drugs, Alcohol, Pornography, TV, Cell Phones, Social Media, and many others dominate society.
Overcoming these addictions demand we build our delayed gratification muscle and Join the Resistance!
3. Social interactions
Delaying the gratification of social engagement in favor of long-term goals is a huge hurdle we must all learn to overcome.
Overriding the impulse to be socially included with friends and family in favor of studying, exercising, getting enough sleep, or preparing for work will take the ability to Self-Regulate.
4. Money
Creating the life of your dreams will require Financial Delayed Gratification.
You will be tempted at every turn to buy the new shiny object. Retailers are masters of the display to grab your attention and create desire.
There will also be the pressure of your Ego or the “keeping up with the Joneses.” This is the desire to be seen as rich, but these habits will keep you poor!
5. Achievement
High achievers choose to work for long-term goals consistently. Avoiding distraction, staying self-motivated, and having a strong connection with why the goal is important.
According to Gallop polling, 70% of workers are underachieving because they are choosing instant gratification on the job.
To become a High Achiever means you will have to do things you do not want to do instead of acting like you are busy.
You can Join the Resistance and learn to Self-Regulate by practicing these things:
1. Eliminate Temptations and Practice Avoidance. You already know the areas you’re weak in, so give yourself an edge by not having them around. Make it easier for yourself by not buying unhealthy snacks, canceling some of your TV options, get the app for your phone to help you manage the time you spend on it, and audit your circle of friends to help you with these addictions.
2. Implement IF/Then protocols. IF you want something you know is not the best THEN, you must do something to earn it first.
3. Keep your Eye on the prize. Focus on what you will become and how it feels to have and be all you dreamed of instead of the shiny new toy.
4. Replace Behaviors. Choose one thing you want to stop doing, BUT you must replace it with another behavior. Let’s say you want to stop watching the news right before you go to bed, so instead, read a motivation book.
5. Know who YOU are. You are one of God’s Masterpieces. He wonderfully and carefully created you with everything you need to succeed in life. Learn and study His Way in the success plan He left for you…The Bible.
The accessibility of having whatever we want in an instant weakens our self-regulation muscles.
Join the Resistance and work on your Delayed gratification muscle, so you do not end up on the Dark Side!
Find Your Passion…Find Your Life!