Why Is Delayed Gratification So Important?

    Delayed gratification is the ability to wait or put off wants/pleasures until a more appropriate time. You may think of the "marshmallow test"  where you give a child the option of waiting for 2 marshmallows after a certain amount of time or getting 1 marshmallow right away.  If that's not familiar to you, then think about how many times you saw something you wanted to buy even though you know you don't have the money to spare but you go and buy it anyway. If you are impulsive with purchases and your decision-making then you probably aren't very good at delaying gratification in your life. If we want, want, want, all the time then we're not going to be able to learn the value of waiting. Choosing to save for your dream vacation compared  to using money from your pay check that's suppose to be for bills is just irresponsible. It shows a lack of discipline and self control. This can hurt you in the long run if you have a habit of just gratifying your pleasure. For instance, every time a new iPhone drops, you don't have to have it! You may want it, but if it's going to have the same IOS update, then literally there's no need to upgrade unless something is seriously wrong with your phone. You'll end up spending a lot of money if you're just throwing it away on every trend that storms society. It's obvious that the internet doesn't help this problem. There's ads everywhere you look, even your favorite influencers are also ads! Ads that promote empty promises that cause you emptier pockets. It's been proven that most people feel lack of self control leads them to not meeting personal or financial goals. To help with self control, it's suggested that you try to set small goals one at a time and work towards meeting them before going to the next one. Try waiting a specified period of time before making a purchase so you give yourself time to think about if you WANT or NEED the item. Not getting caught up in social media may help you too, turn it off sometime and ignore the "perfect" snap shots of life that people only want you to see. Yes, people lie on social media and only try to show what's "amazing" in their life or what they want you to perceive as "amazing". Before I make this too lengthy, I'd like to leave a list of the 5 areas people lack self control according to a psychology study done by Baumeister in 2007. I related to some of these myself and see some of my own problem areas, if you see some of your problem areas, commit to work on them and try to overcome your challenges over time. 

List: 

1.) Food
2.) Physical pleasures
3.) Social interactions
4.) Money
5.) Achievements

Sources:
https://positivepsychology.com/delayed-gratification/
https://www.verywellmind.com/psychology-of-self-control-4177125


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