Today everyone wants to experience things quickly…..they will pay more money, give more time or sacrifice a lot to get the reward of immediate pleasure. What many fail to realize though, is that delayed gratification has various advantages that far outweighs that of instant gratification. This ranges from the ability to develop better habits, increase willpower and also greatly increase the size of the reward at the end of the wait.
Here are 5 fun delayed gratification exercises to teach you mental discipline and help you escape the desire of immediate pleasure:
Put a buffer on your favorite television series
Find your favorite TV series; this should be a series you can’t live without. Now stop at whatever episode in the season you are at; and wait till all episodes of the season airs before re-watching. This will mean that you get to watch an entire season as opposed to waiting eagerly for a new episode each week. If you are a serious series addict, this will be one of the more painful delayed gratification exercises but well worth it.
Delay that holiday
If you you usually take smaller budgeted holidays – then delaying these holidays can benefit you. This is one of the delayed gratification exercises that will likely reap a huge reward at the end of your wait. Instead of going for those smaller and cheaper holidays; instead delay them and save the money. You can then use the accumulated funds to go on a much bigger holiday to an international location.
Investing
One of the most practical delayed gratification exercises is investing. Instead of experiencing the pleasures of spending all of your money – put some away and in a few years you will have enough to really spoil yourself. This can also help to reduce debt, as payment of cars and houses usually require a down payment. The worse thing is huge premiums that leave little for you to spoil yourself with.
Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship is probably the most underrated delayed gratification exercises around. What requires more hard work and waiting than watching a business grow to give out profits. If you really think about it, a job is an example of “instant gratification.”
Moving up the ranks
Yes! moving up too fast in your career can have serious implications. Therefore you should delay gratification when it comes to your career too. Think wisely before jumping into higher positions. It is important to gain good fundamental knowledge and to find your passion first. The two things you want to avoid is the golden handcuffs or being stuck in a job you hate.
To learn how to live life consciously and with a clear perspective; read this ultimate guide: A Mindful Approach To Self Actualization
