Plain Advice

While the intelligent use of instant gratification can help you reach your goals, there is no doubt that the use of delayed gratification is also a necessary part in reaching any worthy aspiration.

While usually considered “the right thing to do”, delayed gratification usually gets a bad rap for the discomfort it can impose. While people often dread “delaying” the things they want, they often overlook a hidden value inherent in this principle. In addition to bringing you closer to the results you want, implementing delayed gratification can also help you experience increased pleasure in your daily activities.

For example:

Doesn’t it feel great to drift off to sleep when you are dead tired?

How about being chilled to the bone and stepping into a warm shower?

Doesn’t your favorite food taste more delicious than usual when you haven’t had it in awhile?

During the labor and delivery of my firstborn, I became extremely thirsty. The protocol in my hospital was to limit food and drinks to a laboring mother, as contents in the stomach can be dangerous should a c-section or other osurgery become necessary. The nurses allowed me to have a small ration of ice chips hourly. My ration never seemed like enough. I was constantly waiting for the next amount to be measured out. After laboring for about 8 hours, I was rushed in for an emergency c-section (good thing they had the protocol!). It was another couple of hours before I was back in my room and able to have a drink (by the way, I acknowledge that many women have had much longer labor than this!)

When I was finally allowed a real drink, the nurse brought me a can of Sprite and a cup of ice. I remember vividly as the Sprite poured into my mouth, down my throat, and quenched my thirst. It was the most delicious and refreshing beverage I had ever experienced.

For months following the birth of my son, I drank a lot of Sprite. I bought it by the case. It was OK, but I was never able to enjoy it the same way I did right after giving birth. Why? The answer is obvious. The increased pleasure I experienced drinking the Sprite was due to the fact that I was very thirsty. I had delayed the quenching of my thirst (not by choice, but hey, that’s not the point ).

If you dread dieting, budgeting, rising early, or doing anything else that comes with it a requirement of delayed gratification, consider making a conscious shift in your paradigm.

Instead of focusing on the discomfort that comes from depriving you from what you want (ie “dieting allows me less freedom with food”), focus on the long and short term pleasures that come from delaying pleasure (ie “dieting will help me lose weight, and not only that. Dieting will also help me enjoy the food I do eat even more).

In the short term, your pleasure will actually be heightened as you moderate yourself. Focusing on this aspect of delayed gratification will make it easier to stick to your daily goals that will eventually bring you to the results you want to see.

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This entry was posted on Thursday, September 13th, 2007 at 8:57 pm and is filed under Personal Development, Weight Loss and Fitness. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.