instant gratification

I have to say that this is harder than I thought, being dedicated enough to write and create over 500 words each day to share with others. Although, when you really count how many words you actually say in a day, 500 is probably pretty low. I was struggling with what to talk about but then it came to me, instant gratification.

I went to the store with my mom and my son to get some odds and ends that I forgot when I went grocery shopping a few days ago. Every time we go to the store my 7-year-old son asks for toys, and these are not normal toys, these are cheap toys that break easily. I ask him if he wants to save his money for bigger toys that won’t break as easy, but he usually says no, he wants a toy now.

I hope that some day my son will figure out what patience is, to learn to save for something better in the future, and not fall victim to getting what you want now all the time. In some cases getting what you want now, helps, but in most cases it does not. All it does is set people up to want more and more instantly instead of learning to be patient.

If I look really close at nature, I see a patience that many humans lack. The food doesn’t come in ‘instant gratification’ mode, it slowly grows and matures over time, if you pick it too early, its sour, if you pick it too late, its rotten. But, if you pick it at just the right time, it’s sweet and it gives your body all the nutrition needed to live a healthy life.

But nature doesn’t have a choice, does it? No, nature just is. Us humans, on the other hand, were designed with the ability to choose, so we have to go through a lot of experiences and situations before we make our decisions on the subject. In this day in age, I feel we have forgotten the beauty of taking our time, of allowing our food, our goals, our dreams, and our lives, to ripen over time, releasing the sweet flavor of success. Instead we try to force situations to ripen when we want it too and what happens is that the flavor of our life is weak, and the nutrients aren’t there to properly nourish our bodies.

I have heard of a concept called the ‘Law of Gestation’, which means it takes time for things to manifest in your life, I challenge all of you to, for one moment, take your time doing a project, no matter what it is. Allow yourself the time to just enjoy the project instead of trying to rush through it so you can be done. You might find that you enjoy things a lot more than you originally thought.

What are your thoughts on instant gratification? Do you think that kids nowadays will understand what it means to truly earn something,  or will they want to be instantly gratified?