Have you ever wondered what instant Gratification truly means? This refers to a state where individuals seek instant rewards and satisfaction for their work and feel frustrated if it doesn’t happen immediately.
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In today’s modern world, many of us have allowed ourselves to become victims of this vice. Even though it’s not as dangerous as it seems, in the long term, it can be destructive. In this article, I am going to explore instant gratification in detail and how it is a danger to success in the long term.
Before
In the ancient world, anything worth having required sacrifice, patience, resilience, persistence, and sustained effort to achieve something meaningful. Whether career-wise, people used to study extensively to achieve high-ranking doctorates, meaning that all rewarding ventures needed time.
Now
In the modern world, people often tend to choose instant pleasure over long-term meaningful progress. In today’s society, people view work as disturbing, yet its reward helps pay the bills. People now believe rewards should come with minimal effort.
What we should know is that instant gratification comes with distraction, laziness, and lack of focus, as the rewards it comes with having zero or little contribution towards our long-term and personal development goals.
For example
Imagine waking up to scroll through your Instagram, WhatsApp, and TikTok to check for new messages and new videos. This activity just gives a quick dopamine hit and nothing constructive towards our long-term goals. Consumption of this information breeds confusion and distraction from the focus needed for deep work.
Next time you are working on an important task, consider switching off your mobile and focusing on deep execution. You will be surprised how much you can achieve in a short time of deep, focused work.
Balance Short and Long-Term Rewards
Chasing our long-term goals doesn’t mean completely avoiding rewarding tasks. This dopamine helps in keeping us motivated and grateful in the pursuit of our long-term goals. However, if misused can be equally as destructive.
For example, when switching to a healthy diet from junk food, you can say that you will be eating it once a month. This idea can help you pursue the long-term goal more easily.
Create Awareness
We should be deeply aware of our actions; only that way shall we be able to identify the hindrances and causes of instant gratification. You can start to track your time and see which activities take up your time and what they contribute towards your long-term goals.
Conclusion
In this article, we have explored instant gratification and its correlation to deep work and focus. We have discovered that in the ancient world, people prioritized deep work, sustained effort, and persistence in the pursuit of their goals, whereas in the modern world, people prioritize instant rewards over long-term satisfaction. We have also covered awareness and benefits of balancing long-term and short-term rewards.
Which activity has been disguised as instant Gratification in your life? Share with us in the comment section below.
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