There is an epidemic of "instant" in today's society.
Every direction you turn, someone is seeking or selling something instant.
"How to make $1,000 today."
"How to become famous in 7 days."
"How to get 6-pack abs in 30 days or less."
Don't get me wrong, it would be great if certain things happened instantly. BUT, if they did, we wouldn't appreciate them nearly as much.
Think about it this way. If you could snap your fingers and have $1 million in your bank account, you would do it. Then, you would spend most, if not all, of it and be back at square one. Why? Because you wouldn’t appreciate what it took to get there. You just snapped your fingers and the money was yours. You didn't have to work for it. Lose sleep over it. Improve your skills to attain it. Overcome adversity. You just snapped your fingers and POOF!
The problem with instant is that it is expedient.
The chips are sitting right in front of you on the counter and you're hungry, so you grab them and eat half the bag. Afterward, you feel guilty because it is Monday. You promised yourself that you would only eat chips on weekends to help cut back.
Or maybe you challenged yourself to read 10 pages/day for 30 days. (Fantastic goal, by the way!) During the week, you are smashing your goal. You start to like the process of reading so much that you are pushing 10, 20, even 30 pages/day. Then, Saturday comes around and you get invited to hangout with some friends. The day has been busy and you haven't had a chance to read your 10 pages for the day. That's okay. You can do it when you get home. Turns out, you got home much later than anticipated, you’re tired, and you just want to go to bed. What's the next move? Skip your reading for the day or keep your promise to yourself? For most, they will skip that day of reading. It will carry over into Sunday. Then the following week. Then, they give up on their challenge altogether.
I am not saying don't have fun or hang out with your friends. But don't cry to anyone when you can't keep a simple promise to yourself. Instant gratification defeated you again. And unless you do something about it (unless you break the cycle), it will happen over and over and over again.
Instant gratification is easier than delayed gratification - that is obvious. Less obvious is the future affect of your current decisions. In other words, what is easy now will be hard later. What is hard now will be easy later, or at least easier.
So, what's the solution?
The solution is to consciously choose the more difficult and delayed path. Here is why:
- Overcoming adversity = growth
- The pride you experience in keeping a promise to yourself will compound. Exponentially.
- The effort required to achieve something is directly proportional to the gratification you experience from achieving it.
The person you become by delaying gratification is lightyears ahead of who you are now. Accepting more resistance, more adversity, and more challenge makes you unstoppable. Your grit, resilience, and relentless fortitude to stay the course is remarkable.
You begin to understand that the path of least resistance is the fastest path to mediocrity. And that path...well, that path is no longer an option for you.
In the end, be able to look back and smile at the promises you kept. The path you forged. The mountains you climbed. The way you inspired others. And the way you treated yourself.
Keep inspiring!
Sam
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