I've read bits and pieces that delaying gratification can help people be more successful in life, in all aspects really, financially, in their health and in relationships. Do you find it easy or hard to control impulses for the various forms of pleasure and if so what tricks/methods helped you take your desires and defer them for a future that isn't guaranteed?
Dr. Jordan Peterson put delaying gratification as bargaining with your future self, with the intention of being around in the future even though there is no guarantee that will be the case.
It is more easy with certain things vs. others. E.g. financially I can resist buying unnecessary stuff easily, but with (sweet) food it is much more tough :)
But an interesting topic.
Yeah food is difficult for me also and some financial decisions are if something I want suddenly became very cheap I can sometimes impulse buy without thinking do I really need it. Overall if the cost is higher I can defer getting it for longer.
Super hard but definitely can. That being said I prolly do 50-50 on things in my life currently but expect that to change significantly over the next few years
Yeah having a bigger picture is important too, something I do today could improve life down the road and something else give me joy sooner but not be good in the long term
Don't know much, but there is one thing I do. Like if I want to buy something, I add a certain amount of effort before buying it. Mostly it includes buying gadgets and stuff. Because I love gadgets.
For example, I want to buy an I-pad now. Either I can buy it right now. But this thing gets uncontrolled. So, I buy it after I do certain tasks. Like writing daily for the next 3 months. If I am able to make $100, I will buy a $500 i-pad. It feels really good.
Tried it with iphone, macbook air, acer gaming laptop. Felt better than just buying. Don't know if it counts or not.
That makes a lot of sense. It's rewarding your development and commitment to writing over time. I think I will try this for my next techy purchase, something like if I do 50 5k runs on Strava app over 6 months on my phone then I can get a Garmin watch or something like that.
lol, I did the same when I wanted to buy a fitness band. I was doing 2 laps of running of my nearby ground.
I promised myself that the day I do 3 laps, I will order my band. Took me two weeks to do it. But the joy of achieving and getting rewarded for it was on another level.
Yeah definitely sounds more satisfying to have earned it. Pushes you to focus on something