Episode 004: Instant Gratification Vs. Delayed Gratification

“Instant Gratification vs. Delayed Gratification” Whenever we start something, looking for change or new results, it seems that we are usually wired to expect immediate results. I wouldn’t say that is entirely our fault though. With the abundance of items marketed to us with “instant” results on a daily basis, we are kind of conditioned to think that everything happens overnight. “I took this pill and lost 30lbs” “I took this course and make $100k/month” The reality is… It all takes work. Work that is done every day, with decisions and effort. I belong to a Facebook page called “Keto For Beginners”. This page is dedicated for people that are interested in the Ketogenic lifestyle. Keto is designed to lose weight and increase energy through a high fat and low carb diet. At least once a week I see someone post, “I have only lost 15lbs in 20 days, what am I doing wrong?’. 15lbs in 20 days? What are you doing wrong? That is amazing in my opinion! But again, we have been conditioned to crave that instant gratification, thinking it should have been more. Could you imagine being at the gym and whatever muscle you were exercising at the time grew instantly? Yeah, that’d be awesome… but that’s not how it works. The group I belong to has recently been discussing the importance of getting 1% better each day. You see, we are all playing the “long game”. Delayed gratification if you will. We understand that anything of substance will not happen overnight. It is the daily grind that we must uphold in order to achieve our results. We just want to get 1% better each day, accumulating our progress. I recently started going back to crossfit to increase my functional strength and health. It doesn’t take just 1 class to do this, its the culmination of many classes that will yield the highest results. I can’t go to 1 class and expect to be at the same level that a guy that’s been going there for 5 years is at. I must trust the process. Even though I live in a city built on instant gratification. Get what you want, when you want 24 hours a day or put $20 in a machine and walkout 10 minutes later with $500. I have recently learned that delayed gratification and the willingness to put the time into what your goals are is much more substantial than the instant gratification of an overnight success.