The 'joys' of instant gratification

Instant gratification is great. Food, alcohol, sex - we all know what it feels like.

Hungry? Order your groceries in minutes.

Bored? Go to your preferred social media platform for a dopamine hit.

Anxious? Open that bottle of alcohol

What is wrong with convenience? Nothing.

However, this pursuit of convenience stealthily morphs into unrealistic expectations in your personal life and work life.

I want groceries - I have an app that does that in 10 mins!

I'm hungry - I have an app that can deliver delicious food in 30 mins!

I want to lose weight - why do I have to wait several months to see a result? Forget it. I want to build a reading habit - this book is boring. I'd rather watch Netflix.

I want to build a meditation habit - my mind is never silent. Why try?

I want to stretch every day so that my body becomes flexible. Stretching is boring. I'd rather do something more interesting.

I want to make money off the stock market - why do I have to try and fail for several months before I get the hang of it? Drop it.

I want to have a podcast channel with hundreds of followers - why do I have to wait several months before I do it? Let me satisfy myself by simply visualizing it.

I have chosen this progression of questions intentionally - in increasing order of effort.

It all began with having expectations of others - i.e. - a grocery app or a food delivery app.

Then, it quickly transitioned to having expectations of yourself. Having expectations of yourself is fair, however, you must also remember that you have to act on those expectations, otherwise nothing gets done. How I wish thinking was enough, and anything we thought would materialize into being. But, alas, this would rob us of the joy of the journey.

This brings us into an interesting discussion of journey (or process) v/s results.

The instant gratification mindset is results focussed, however delaying gratification is what one should strive towards. It is simple but difficult. So, how can one start to love the process?

It all begins by understanding WHY you do what you do. If you understand the WHY and are able to link WHAT you do with the WHY, it becomes easier to enjoy the process. Of course, this is easier said than done.

I am reading Simon Sinek's 'Find your Why'. I will keep you posted on my journey with finding my why in the hopes of coming to terms with gratification.

Thank you for reading! This post has started a thread of ideas in my mind. I plan to continue with these ideas in follow-up posts.

{Note to self:

Any thought becomes clearer after writing.

This post has given me ideas for follow-up posts.

You don't have to be articulate all the time.

Done is better than perfect.

}

{Note to readers:

Thank you for reading! I am just starting out on my writing journey. This is something my perfectionist self has been delaying for almost 10 years. Often times, you will see a sprinkling of random thoughts in my post. This is when I say to myself that, "I don't have to be articulate all the time". I would love to hear your thoughts on the following questions:

• What strategies do you use to get over the pitfall of instant gratification?

• Would you like to share some examples?

}