What does instant gratification mean?
Whether you are a freelancer or a day job worker, you may have heard about instant gratification.
What is Instant gratification?
Instant gratification, instant pleasure, or Immediate Gratification is the temptation to experience pleasure or fulfillment without delay. Instant gratification is a bad habit where a person is looking for immediate pleasure instead of a better return in the future.
Do you desire to experience pleasure without any deferment or delay? Yes, I know. Usually, everybody thirsts to experience a state of instant pleasure rather than waiting for it… That is very normal and natural. It is the basic instinct of human beings. Generally, whenever you desire something, you like to have it immediately.
Why do we want instant gratification?
Whenever you wish or ask for something to have in the life span, you also want it immediately. You feel discomfort psychologically if you don’t get the things instantly there and then ask for them. This psychosomatic anxiety is closely linked with self-denial.
Naturally, a human being’s instinct is to snatch the reward as soon as possible, and it is hard to resist this instinct. People are born with the strongest desire for instantaneous rewards or compensation.
Is instant gratification bad?
There is nothing wrong with it; if you want something done on time, there is nothing terrible in experiencing pleasure without delay, and there is nothing wrong with having anything you need or desire right now without any delay. My dear reader, you must understand that the balance between your desires and a realistic or logical sense of timing and patience is essential to a peaceful and productive life.
You need to know that instant gratification behavior can cause several issues that sometimes go beyond your control. These issues may lead to harmful outcomes, such as a distraction from significant goals and meaningful pursuits and destructive social and financial health.
Instant gratification may affect the brain!
You might be known! How does the brain function?
Our brain reacts positively to instant pleasure or gratification. It has two parts: the emotional part and the logical part. Impulsive choices used to happen when the brain’s emotions emerged from the rational part. The emotional part of the brain takes over when you get close to getting a reward.
A long list of issues could arise to emphasize instant gratification over delayed gratification. Let’s discuss a few of the major ones.
Effects of Instant gratification that may harm!
Diminished Span of Attention
We are all generally tuned to have everything instantly. I am not aware of others, but I purchased my new smartphone a few years back. I felt the change because I started feeling difficult and bored while watching a small ad or reading a short article.
You might have encountered this while watching videos on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, or other social media platforms. You might have noticed that while scrolling if any feed does not capture your attention quickly, you may move forward quickly. My first instinct was to close swiftly if an ad appeared in the middle of a Facebook or YouTube video. I don’t want advertsdon’tpoil my continuity, no matter how tiny. Sometimes, you may miss something significant on the way because of this kind of behavior.
Lack of Focus
You start losing focus and learning new skills whenever you are habituated to getting quicker results with minimal time and effort. Once you are tuned not to delay gratifications, your brain signals you to be a beginner again at something naïve. Your brain may start screaming at you if you focus on something that, in return, will give you nothing. When you try to focus intently on a hobby or skill and don’t get anything don’tturn, your brain will start screaming at you.
Dropping Interest in Passions
Once you are passionate, you can do anything of interest to you. However, when your behavior is to have instant gratification, you may start losing interest in such activities of your passion. Let me tell you the real reason behind that! Whatever you plan to do or what to achieve, the results are supposed to come in 1-2-3; these will take a due course of time that is normal and natural. You will have to show patience and wait for the good results. Otherwise, you may get frustrated and think of quitting.
I will discuss a few examples that will determine whether you hold instant gratification behavior or not. So, get ready!
Do you waste time on any social media platform?
Knowing how much time you spend on your beautiful smartphone will be exciting. Are you surfing the news feed of social media platforms like Instagram daily, looking for pictures, jokes, and social or personal messages that your friends shared or tagged, and posting stories regarding fun-loving moments? How often and for how long do you look at and hold your smartphone for such activities, as discussed above? Now, you can calculate how much time you were productive while having a smartphone and engaged with it. It looks pretty pertinent in youth who are in social media culture.
Did you realize that how come this time can be consumed for anything more fruitful? The current happy-feeling state influences you to keep surfing and scrolling on the smartphone.
Snoozing – Do you know what it means?
Unfortunately, we all are victims of this snoozing habit. You set the alarm on your smartphone to get up in the morning. Do you plan to wake up early every day, but when your phone rings in the morning, you know well what you do? Almost everybody does that; you put your alarm on snooze for 5 or 10 minutes. Realize that 10 minutes of snooze daily will end up 300 minutes a month and 3600 minutes a year. How much time have you wasted so far from your life? This time can be spent on productive activities that may help you to be different from others in a very positive manner. This usually happens because of your instant gratification behavior, which is why you cannot delay gratification. All of your plans fly out the window. Don’t forget that the comfort and pleasurDon’ta little extra sleep offset the plan that may give you more gratification.
Eating junk
You know the importance of a balanced diet and ideal weight. Ideal body weight and good dietary habits help keep you healthy, energetic, fresh, and attractive to the opposite sex.
But, when you are at any restaurant, a mighty zinger burger with melting cheese and a pitcher of cola change your brain in the opposite direction. Sometimes, you say it is a cheating day because you cannot delay gratification or with an instant gratification behavior.
Skipping workout
What impact will it make if I skip one day of the gym? “I will join the gym tomorrow.” This “ind of thought comes in when “he alarm bell rings in the morning; then, you are supposed to prepare for a workout in the gym. You follow your thoughts because our behavior is based on our thoughts. The comfort and pleasure of not joining a gym today are because of not delaying gratification.
Working on urgent tasks
Do remember your habits!
When you receive a prompting message that appears while you are doing something significant at work, for instance, improving current or acquiring a new skill, popped messages kidnap your attention by screaming, “Click me, click me,” I have something unimportant. Still,” Could you check me out?
Every day’s tasks or activities take superiority overday’slong-term future goalmouths you are intended to achieve.
Spending time on entertainment
We are used to having entertainment for a joyful and relaxed life. Entertainment offers happiness and satisfaction. Some people use their smartphones for YouTube videos, and some watch movies or serials on Netflix. Most of the time, when you finish one episode, your brain compels you to watch another episode, and then you end and start feeling appetite. Now you start thinking about ordering food at home. After placing an order, you again begin watching another episode while waiting for food delivery. You spend more time on entertainment rather than on other productive tasks. This is all because of your laziness, or you may be unable to delay gratification for the next time.
Spending more rather than saving
You plan and attempt to save some money every month instead of throwing all of your income into buying the kinds of stuff you need. When you come across a bank account statement at the end of the month, you get shocked and promise not to spend from this month now. But this gets repeated, and your unexpected expenses derail your budget. What’s hilarious is it occurs every month.
If you are determined to delay your gratification, you caWhat’sce the number of visits to restaurants for dinner or lunch and refrain from impulsive buying.
Paying a loan to buy a fancy item
Usually, you apply for loans from banks or elsewhere to purchase costly but fancy items you cannot afford. You may not require these fancy items as urgent items. It is not a bad idea to buy a house on a mortgage because such assets are appreciated as time passes and value goes up. However, buying a new and expensive car on loan from the bank may not be a good idea. It is better to go for a cheaper option. The simple formula you can apply, for instance, if your income increases by 40%, you are justified to go far with a 40 % more costly car. It would be best if you analyzed the fact that your income increases, but savings don’t.
Discount sales
It is exciting when you and your wife (if married) learn of a big billion-dollar sale, and then you both stand up on your toes, waiting anxiously for that big day to come.
Is that true?
When that day comes, you start roaming through all possible deals, adding more items to your cart. You start feeling excited that you have saved hundreds of dollars by buying goods on sale. Undoubtedly, the total amount of dollars you spend on the items will be far less than the actual price. Now, if you look back on your items individually, you will be amazed. You may notice that the items you purchased may not be most needed. The pleasure of ordering somewhat for yourself at a discount provides you instant gratification and saves you money.
How to avoid instant gratification?
You are not required to avoid all cases and situations of instant gratification bias. From time to time, you need to experience the pleasure that comes from it. The important thing is to ensure a balance where you won’t let instant gratification win in any decision you make. To avoid the adverse outcomes of instant gratification addictions, the following steps can be considered.
Be awawon’t the sources of distraction.
If you plan to interact with your smartphone regularly during the day, you can avoid distractions. I check my cellphone only 3-4 times during daily WhatsApp or other social media news feeds, not whenever it beeps. I found this idea quite doable and fruitful.
If you do not encounter such temptations, you will notice that repelling the craving is easy and simple. It may feel difficult at the start, but gradually, you will be at the edge of success.
Know your behavioral patterns.
People have different behavioral patterns and urges. Some people’s urges get triggered to buy something related to sales or discounts, good-looking clothing, a large bowl of ice cream, or home appliances, and my urge gets triggered to visit a flea market for upeople’sctronics) items. This is my area of great instant gratification. You must know your instant gratification area; the most shared ones are Shopping, Social Media, Sex, Wasting time, Food, or Entertainment. If you think you are facing the same, avoid the temptation.
Set some rules for yourself.
You will undoubtedly have a list of something to start and something to stop doing. First, you must set well-defined but simple rules for yourself to avoid the adverse outcomes of instant gratification, then follow with actual letter and spirit. For instance;
- Dining outside the home only once a week
- Spending not above X on any item (discount sale)
- Interact with my phone only four times a day for the social media newsfeed
As modest as these rules sound, setting them properly will make all the difference.
Now it’s your turn
In today’s world, Instant gratification affects everybody. Now, you are familiar with the negative consequences of instant gratification addiction. You can take back control over yourself.
CONCLUSION
The instant gratification pattern is a simple method of procrastination daily. Today, be your style of inhibiting yourself from doing what you know you should. Choking instant gratification addiction is not a difficult task that is beyond your control. Whatever seems simple to do, but at the same time, it is also very simple not to do. This is going to be your choice now, whether you opt to overcome the destructive effects of instant gratification addiction or surrender to the craving.
Learn more about authors in Nimblefreelancer's team biography page.
