Instant gratification is sometimes adorned with poor labels, discouraged in lieu of waiting for true satisfaction.
"Delay the gratification" is trumpeted by many swell-minded individuals who have either read or lived the advice -- and I don't disagree. For in or example, as someone who exercises and does my best to eat properly six days a week, and waits until Sunday to indulge (or, more so, over-indulge), I get it. For example, a bacon, egg, and cheese on a huge bagel is not something I'd sink my teeth into during the week, but on Sunday... The definition of instant gratification, courtesy of my daughter Stefanie, casually: Instant Gratification isn't something to fall into or, more specifically, spend money on all the time. Though tempting to quickly opt for, it is something to not always give in (to), because there is something better waiting down the road. We are programmed to not want to wait for things anymore. People have less patience and less interest in working toward something. Amen, #1 daughter. However, this recently made me think. What if there were something that was beneficial and could be instantly gratifying? Is there harm in that, maybe? For example, during a recent trip to Montclair State University's Sprague Library, calling to me were the new rules that community members can now charge out a maximum of ten books, renewal of the items also approvable. So, attempting to satisfy my reading "bug" of nature, poetry, and memoir, I selected two of the first, two of the second, and a single volume of the third genre. That's five books, charged out to a guy who always advises people to never take out more books than they can read in a four- week period! Instant gratification, yes? The books are a bit aged and all are hardcover, exactly the type I prefer, and after placing them on my nightstand when I arrived home, I was mildly euphoric. But there was a dilemma: how to concentrate on the one I was reading while I knew four more were waiting in a pile to be digested? Easily solved. I read a little bit of each book per night. While as a reader I realize that concentration of one many-paged collection of worthwhile literature is enjoyable and necessary, the method I chose kept me busy reading, and I learned much more than I would have if just reading one at a time. I don't advocate my method if not for you, but for me it did make my instant gratification good instead of detrimental. Try it -- maybe -- sometime. Steve
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Steve Sears is a New Jersey based freelance writer
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