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With the advent of the internet, we’ve all somehow developed superpowers.

If you get an urge for anything whether; food, drinks, or clothes, all you have to do is pick up your phone and -voila! It’s at your doorstep.

Unconventionally, you no longer have to rely on friends, co-workers, or presumptuous family members to set you up on a date.

All you have to do is pick up the forementioned phone, open that app that we’re all too familiar with – sadly, and -voila! You now have a myriad of dates!

The problem with easy access to whatever we need is that it has impaired our cognitive ability to think about the long-term consequences of instant gratification.

Our susceptibility to every little urge is getting harder and harder to manage and it only reinforces hedonistic behavior.

These cheap dopamine boosts you get from instantly gratifying your every urge might leave you feeling elated in the short run, but they are not sustainable and can even lead to depression and anxiety.

In this blog, I talk about 5 reasons why you should consider delaying gratification.

You might be familiar with the famous marshmallow experiment that was carried out at Stanford University.

This wouldn’t be a discussion about delayed gratification without mention of it.

So, I think that’s a great place to start.

The marshmallow experiment.

In 1972 psychologist Walter Mischel with a team of researchers at Stanford University carried out an experiment with quite a number of children.

The researchers placed one marshmallow in front of each child.

They told the child that they would leave the room for a couple of minutes, and if the child ate the marshmallow, they would not get a second one.

However, if the child waited until the researcher was back, they would get a second marshmallow.

The researchers recorded which children ate the marshmallows, and which children waited.

They continued to follow up with these children for the greater part of their lives, collecting information on their self-control.

The results were astonishing.

They found that developing self-control had a major impact on the children that waited for the second marshmallow.

These children reported higher grades in their schoolwork, lower levels of substance abuse, and overall had better social skills and self-control.

This experiment made it painfully obvious that delaying gratification is a definite factor of success and if you are able to do it, it can pay dividends in the future.

Now let’s get into some of the dividends that delaying gratification can pay; or the 5 reasons why you should delay gratification.

Improved resilience.

It can be quite frustrating when you are working on something that requires a lot of time and doesn’t return immediate rewards.

For example, if you are building a business from the ground up, this obviously takes time and requires patience before you begin to see any rewards budding.

It also usually requires you to have the ability to grind it out, which takes grit.

If you’re the kind of person that needs to see immediate rewards to feel motivated, you might give up prematurely when you fail to see any promising rewards- which is a major contributor to failure.

But if you’re able to delay the urge to jump on to the next venture, you’ll eventually build up the resilience needed to grow a successful business.

Great things take time, resilience, and sacrifice!

Delayed gratification is modern-day psychology for sacrifice.

Improved decision making

Your decision-making capabilities are greatly improved when you’re able to control the primal part of your personality that requires its urges to be satisfied immediately – the ID.

Taking the time to carefully consider the consequences of your actions, rather than making impulsive decisions solely based on short-term pleasures will enable you to make better-informed decisions.

For example, before picking up a bottle of alcohol minutes before you have to drive, carefully consider the consequences of drunk driving.

Also, instead of choosing to stay on the couch and watch tv all day while shoving chips down your throat, consider the consequences this habit will have on your physical and mental health in the long run.

Increased productivity

There are so many activities that provide instant gratification these days; watching Netflix, playing video games, scrolling through social media, and going on tinder dates to name but a few.

When you’re able to delay gratification, this frees up so much of the time that you can use to work on your life goals rather than spending it on indulging these urges.

It also helps you to prioritize your tasks and manage your time more effectively.

Instead of succumbing to the urge of watching mindless TV for hours, or aimlessly scrolling through social media apps, use that time to work on your goals.

Avoiding these distractions helps to improve your focus and ability to concentrate on what you are working on -which has a direct correlation to increased productivity and efficiency.

Better and more meaningful relationships.

Have you ever met someone that you thought was amazing and immediately wanted to jump in the sack with them?

A lot of people ruin their relationships because they seek out that quick pleasure upfront.

When you’re able to delay the urge to get physical with your crush and put off any love-booming declarations, this creates more time and room to nurture a deep and more fulfilling relationship.

Also, holding out before jumping into a relationship helps you uncover someone’s ulterior motives, which can save you from a lot of heartbreak down the line.

On the flip side, if in a relationship that is turbulent, resisting the urge to jump ship and instead opting to work things out can enable you to build a stronger bond with your partner.

The way I see it, delaying gratification, especially in romantic relationships, is a winning game.

Sound financial decisions.

Let’s face it- saving and investing are long games that require the ability to delay instant gratification and be patient in order to realize gains.

While it’s so tempting to spend money on the latest gadget, an overly priced pair of shoes, or a spontaneous vacation, it’s probably wise if you do not succumb to these urges.

The opportunity cost incurred will be great.

Especially if your goal is to grow your savings and investment portfolio.

The ability to delay gratification is a crucial factor in prudent financial behaviors.

Conclusion

Essentially the ability to delay gratification goes hand in hand with the ability to control yourself.

Resisting the temptation of falling prey to your urges just like any other habit can be cultivated.

Once you get the hang of it, it ceases to be difficult and becomes a lifestyle, where instant gratification just seems wrong to you.

It’s important to note that impulse control is an essential life skill when it comes to achieving your goals.

I guess when our mothers told us “Good things come to those who wait,” they meant it quite literally.