The Advantages of Developing the Capacity for Delayed Satisfaction as a Vital Life Skill
Delayed gratification is defined as a state of non-immediate satisfaction, which is verbose for postponing the results. And I’m guessing the majority of us would prefer to put off the waiting and get it right now. After all, let’s get what we want immediately and move on, right?
And that craving for instant gratification causes a lot of problems. We’re overweight, in way too much debt, divorced, in bad relationships, and on and on, all because we never learned how important delayed gratification is to the best life. Instead, we have the idea that getting what we want and getting it now is the path to our dream life.
However, that instant gratification we get from diving into things with no forethought of the future outcome is the path to destruction. That’s why practicing the art and life skill of delaying instant satisfaction matters and is vital to a really successful life.
We all want things we don’t have in an effort to improve our state of being. Learning to put off what we think will be gratifiying and resisting the urge to get it now is more often than not the better way. Developing the capicity for delayed satisfaction gives us time to think about the future results of our actions, instead of spending time in the consequences.
Patience and self-control are learned skills for most of us. But, definitely skills worth learning. Without them, it’s pointless to set goals. With them comes the ability to think what would really add value to life. With delayed satisfaction comes the ability to think about what we want, set goals and stick to them until we achieve the success we want in any area of life.
Why Delayed Gratification Matters
The Benefits of Delayed Gratification
Better Health
We somehow trick ourselves into thinking sitting in front of the TV and mindlessly binging on the very worst foods doesn’t matter. After all, it’s gratifying to our taste buds, and seems to beat the boredom of life.
However, this is only short term satisfaction that results in weight issues, bad health, procrastinating instead of taking care of responsibilities,and more.
Learning to resist the urge for sweets that only satisfies boredom and emotions will help you stick to a workout routine, lose weight, and take care of life.
You’ll get to a healthy weight much faster, improve your health drastically, and feel better about yourself just by delaying momentary pleasures for a better outcome.
- Lose weight
- Improve health
- You’re making a long term decision for better health.
- You’ll be more disciplined in other areas of your life.
Increased Self-Worth
Self-control and delayed satisfaction help you get more out of life. It enhances your self-worth increases self-confidence when you learn self control.
Because you know you have value and are valued, self-worth makes you respect yourself more.With thinking more of yourself and increased confidence comes the ability to make better decisions for every part of your life.
- Improve your discipline and willpower.
- Achieve your goals more easily.
- Feel proud of yourself for sticking to your guns.
- Enjoy a sense of satisfaction from delayed gratification.
Long-Term Success
Life is full with bright, shining things. While pursuing them might be thrilling and enjoyable, hopping from one thing to the next can jeopardize your work and relationships.
You may not enjoy your current employment, but you recognize that it is necessary for you to develop your talents. Learning patience in one area of your life, naturally helps in all the other areas, teaching you that delaying gratification can mean reaping bigger rewards in the future.
- Increased confidence.
- Improved decision making skills.
- Feel more in control of your life.
- Respect yourself and your time more.
- You’ll be more productive and able to focus on what’s important.
- You’ll feel more confident and capable of achieving your goals.
- You’ll be less likely to get caught up in drama or negative situations.
Accomplish Goals
It is likely that you would have a better time going out with your friends and having some fun than staying in and completing the project you have been working on.
Delaying gratification does not mean that you shouldn’t have pleasure, but it does mean that you should be willing to make sacrifices in order to achieve your objectives.
In order to set yourself up for greater success in the future, you might occasionally have to deny yourself some of the little joys that life has to offer.
- You will be more successful if you delay gratification.
- You can have pleasure and still achieve your objectives.
- It’s hard to deny yourself little pleasures, but it’s worth it in the end.
- You’re working towards a brighter future for yourself.
Financial Security
Love surfing the internet and adding items to your shopping cart? ECommerce, shopping has become easier and more comfortable. This, on the other hand, adds to bad spending habits.
Ask yourself, “Do I need anything?” before you start shopping. If you do go shopping, spend a second or two to glance through the products you’ve purchased before checking out. Don’t buy them if you don’t need them right now and know you can live without them. Consider the large purchases you may make in the future if you don’t spend any money today.
This transient pleasure of being able to buy stuff might be detrimental to your financial situation. You will have more financial stability if you spend your money with discipline.
- Helps you spend money more responsibly
- Prevents you from making large, impulsive purchases in the future
- Enjoy being able to buy what you want, when you want it
- Feel good about being financially responsible
Learn Discipline
Building self-discipline means making it a habit to control your impulses, being patient, and avoiding the desire to engage in activities that provide just momentary pleasure.
You won’t get impatient, quit your job in a flash when things become tough, or give up on your attempts to lose weight when you don’t see a result in a week because you won’t give up so readily.
You can go a long way in your profession, your health, and in life in general with discipline, and the rewards that you obtain from exercising discipline are even more satisfying.
- Improved self-control
- Increased patience
- Greater ability to resist temptation
- Feel more in control of your life
- More satisfied with yourself and your accomplishments
- Able to stick with difficult tasks for longer periods of time
Lasting Happiness
There’s a saying that the best things in life are worth the wait. Delayed gratification will give you true and lasting happiness when you finally receive the bigger rewards. This is because waiting is about choosing to forego immediate pleasure in favor of something that will ultimately be more satisfying.
It requires discipline and patience, but the payoff is always worth it. When you delay the delight of “right now”, you train your brain to resist temptation, which leads to better self-control and increased self-awareness.
In addition, delayed gratification teaches you to appreciate what you have, rather than always wanting more. As a result, you find greater happiness and satisfaction in life. So next time you’re tempted to indulge in something immediately, remember that the best things in life are worth the wait. Choose delayed gratification instead, and you’ll be on your way to a happier life.
- You’ll have better self-control.
- You’ll appreciate what you have more.
- You’ll be able to resist temptation.
- You’ll find greater happiness and satisfaction in life.
Conclusion
The ability to delay gratification is a skill that can be learned. It’s not easy, but it’s worth it.
So, how can you get started? Practice patience and self-control every day. Start with small goals at first and gradually increase the difficulty as you become more comfortable with putting off the instant gratification.
Be prepared to experience some setbacks along the way – this is normal! Just keep practicing and be patient with yourself. The ability to delay gratification is a powerful tool that will help you achieve success in any area of life.