The era of Instant Gratification
We live in a world where everything we want is given to us in a click of a button and is delivered with a sense of urgency. Thirty minutes delivery, Amazon prime, instant cash back, instant espresso, 20% off hurry now, limited period offer and the list goes on. While some might argue that this has made life more convenient and comfortable, it comes with its own share of problems.
We don’t understand the meaning of patience anymore and this constant need of having everything so fast and easy scatters to the areas of life that require effort. We base our self-worth on the number of likes we get on social media. If a post doesn’t perform well we conveniently archive it in the hopes that when we do find the right time to re-post it ,we will be instantly gratified. This isn’t only about social media. Take relationships as an example, not everyone wants to put in the effort of knowing the other person. We’re constantly rushing from relationship to relationship because we seemingly want to have THE picture perfect life and everyone else seems to have it together and that we really must be doing something wrong. It’s easy to show a highlight reel of something but it’s daunting to show what’s real. A 2 minute video gets more views than a 10 minute video, because who cares about the quality of the content right? I just want to get done with it and get straight to the end. We are always in a rush to get somewhere but the problem is we don’t know where. There are places we could be and places that society tells us you should be, but is it our own? They say good things take time, but hey Siri can you tell me how long will it take for me to get successful, own a mansion, become rich and famous? Siri is probably laughing at how delusional humans have become.
How does the need for instant gratification and validation stop us from becoming better versions of ourselves? I’m glad you asked. Getting to know ourselves takes time, learning to better areas of our life that are important to us takes practice, understanding the reason of why we do what we do takes introspection. If Michael Jordan gave up every time he missed a shot and didn’t get the result of his practice instantly, would he be one of the greatest players in the world today? Do you think to become an overnight success it just takes one night? Like social media we also like to highlight the moment where everything paid off, but it’s just the tip of the iceberg. Everyone notices the tree that grew so big but no one takes the time to water the roots and build a foundation. The ability to delay gratification should be counted as a skill which like everything else takes practice. The marshmallow test is proof of how we can measure the potential outcomes of our lives. In this experiment, children were given a choice between one small reward that was immediate or two small rewards if they waited for a certain period of time. This measures the ability to choose between short term pleasures and long term gains.
Our generation is full of depressed people who are constantly comparing themselves to strangers. We always feel like we’re getting old and running out of time but if you go to see we spend more time worrying about how life is passing us by than it actually is passing us. If more people chose to look at the bigger picture and not base their self-worth off on how fast they can “make it” we could be a happier generation. In a world where companies profit of insecurities, it takes courage to love yourself just where you are and take your time in shaping the life YOU deem as meaningful.
