Instant Gratification or Delayed Gratification? Can I Have Both?

As a kid, I believed that there was a predestined and set path to life when it came to adulthood.  I was supposed to go to college, get a degree and then get a job.  Working life meant working your fingers to the bone in some way unhappily, griping and complaining, and being tired until you retired.  Then, you could move to Florida and relax on the beach when it wasn’t hurricane season.  This was of course, a child’s viewpoint and summary of what I saw around me.  Most adults seemed to complain a lot about work.  Retirement looked kind of fun, but the physical appearance of retiree’s did not.

This model is a form of delayed gratification at least from the adults that I saw around me.  Everyone was suffering and sacrificing in the present so that they could reap the rewards in the future.  The problem is that the future for many, may not have been in the best of health.  Entrepreneurship, to me employs some form of delayed gratification.  It takes a lot of work to become successful and for most it does not happen overnight.  When success is reached, however, it is extremely gratifying.

I think for most, our instinct is to want instant gratification.  When things are not going well, we often get discouraged and may want to quit.  It does not help that our customers, clients, bosses, etc all want it now – instant gratification.  We live in a world and society where instant gratification is often picked as the winner over delayed gratification.  I would love to see my business and client list skyrocket today, but I know it’s something that I have to work towards.  To get what I really want, I have to delay that gratification.

From a monetary perspective, there are things that I could do now that would bring instant gratification in the form of money.  The downside is that to do those things, I would have to be willing to not sleep for a while, take on tasks that I hate doing, and offer services that I have no real interest in.  If money could truly buy me happiness, I would do it!  What I really want is to find some balance in between instant gratification and delayed gratification.

I want to work hard now towards my dream, but start living my dream before I am old and wrinkled.  I also want to be considered a spry chicken by the time I reach old age.  Seriously, both of my grandmothers are very active and my great-grandmother is 106 and even goes to the gym!  Check her out in this video here.  During retirement, I want to re-invent myself and do something else instead of sitting around doing nothing.  I want to live in the present and enjoy it now.  It sounds a bit impossible; to want instant and delayed gratification at the same time, but I think I can find a way to do it.

I already have long-life genes on my side and a few years back I adopted a healthy lifestyle that has changed my quality of life now.  I have business goals and plans in place to reach those goals.  I also take time out to meditate, reflect and enjoy the life I have now.  I think that I am well on my way to having (my version) of it all.  J