I'm guilty of instant gratification

It is pleasure principal at play.

April 14, 2024

How are you? One challenge I’ve come across that is quite interesting is the tendency to cave into instant gratification.

A real life example that I’ve seen is someone who has trouble eating healthy and indulged more than he’d liked. It has happened to me too - binging on Netflix when I should be reading.

It seems illogical. We know what is good for us, yet we select an alternative that is worse.

I got curious and did a little more digging for you on this topic.

At the crux of instant gratification is a basic need inherent in humans—the tendency to feel pleasure and avoid pain.

This tendency is known as the pleasure principle. The term was first used by Sigmund Freud.

Instant gratification happened way before our time. Our ancestors ate whatever they saw as the certainty of their next meal is unclear.

It is difficult to avoid.

In this helpful article, it outlines a few reasons why it is challenging to sidestep this urge. One stood out:

“Imagination: choosing delayed gratification requires the ability to envision your desired future if you forego your current desire; if you cannot paint a vivid picture of your future, you have little motivation to plan for it.”

In the example I gave above, it was indeed difficult for him to see the long term consequences (poor health) or benefit (more energy and time to spend with family).

This conclusion is also backed up by another article:

"Our emotional brain has a hard time imagining the future, even though our logical brain clearly sees the future consequences of our current actions,"

Researchers at Harvard University

Unfortunately, it will only get more difficult.

The more we are offered instant gratification through technology, the more we come to expect it. For example:

  • Subscriptions eliminate the need for advertisements to get back to your show or movie

  • Theme parks offer fast passes that allow you to skip the line for a fee.

  • Internet providers are constantly upgrading the speed of their connections

What can we do?

A “commitment device” for someone with snacking problem. Would it work for you?

One idea is to try associating emotion to your goals.

Our emotions can easily overpower any logic deduction skills we have. You might want to try associating a strong positive emotion to your habit if you are starting one.

Stay courageous,

Joping

Have you been putting off something and then hate the feeling of procrastination? I can help you:

👉 Clarify and strengthen your intentions. Why do you want to do this?

👉 Unpack what’s holding you back

👉 Stay accountable and supported on your action plan

Hit reply to chat more!