Immediate Gratification vs Long Term Success

Posted on April 26, 2021 by Razia Sulliman , One of Thousands of Life Coaches on Noomii.

The times and society that we find ourselves in drives instant/immediate gratification above long term success. Why do I say this? Think back to your childhood and I will give you a small example. Who remembers Sunday lunch? Your mom cooking in the kitchen most of the morning, getting salads ready and of course a lovely dessert. A dessert you could only have if you finished your lunch. Does this ring a bell for you?

Now think of your Sunday lunch. Is it ordered from a app that delivers it to your door or a quick pop in the oven from roasted veggies and meat?

Another example is physical fitness. Physical fitness is a process of exercising and healthy eating habits. If you have ever been over weight and managed to loose the weight through 6 months of hard work and consistency, you know long term success. But now think of all the pills and gadgets that promise results in 1 week. If you go take a look at the sales figures for those gadgets and pills you will be astonished.

Now what does this have to do with the topic at hand? Instant gratification has become our societal norm. We want things to happen fast and easy. Why is instant gratification bad?

In summary, over-reliance on instant gratification behaviours can create problems by changing our brains, distracting us from more meaningful pursuits, and leading to destructive financial, social, and health outcomes. (www.psychologytoday.com)

In my next blog we look at self destructive behaviours, which are mentioned above, but for now lets stay focused on Instant gratification vs long term success. Instant gratification serves a purpose as it can help with confidence and drive but without the patience for long term success we tend to not build the resilience to see things through. We give up when it becomes to hard, we return to the easy way of doing things.

If you want to make life changing decisions you need to be willing to build the resilience and patience to see it through, otherwise nothing will change.

I am going to give you some tips on how to start with this:

- First you always need a plan or a goal so:
- Identify what YOU want
- Look for potential obstacles that you might encounter
- Create a support network that can help you when you encounter those obstacles
- Eliminate any temptations that might distract you from the BIG picture
- Make sure that you set clear boundaries
- Break your BIG picture up into achievable goals
- Create a reward system for yourself, for when you achieve each of those goals

I hope these tips help you. Remember if you worked hard for it, you appreciate it so much more