Direct access to everything from shopping, entertainment, food, technology, and social media has trained us that instant gratification is a requirement in our everyday routine. This behavior of “I have to have it now”, has impacted our patience and personal growth because we want short-term solutions. We take for granted the value of aiming for long-term goals, the benefits from the experience, and the pleasure we enjoy from undergoing those achievements. Here are some justifications why instant gratification is dangerous to participate in every day.
1. Overindulgence.
When you have what you want without working for it, some can be tempted to abuse it, because it is right there for the taking. For example, alcohol, food, online shopping, gaming, gambling, drugs, and so on.

These will give you short-term pleasures that can become abusive if you don’t limit yourself or practice discretion in these areas. Setting up healthy boundaries and balances can make all the difference in our daily routine, because who doesn’t love having access to everything at their fingertips? It does make life easier, but if not careful it can lead to obsessive behavioral traits that can deplete your money, energy, and time!
2. Missing out on moments.
While you are enjoying "the next best thing", you can miss out on the important moments.

Being present in the moment has become more and more harder for people with social media right at their fingertips. We get so busy looking at how “perfect” everyone’s life is going from the pictures they “chose to post” versus what is going on around us in the moment. When was the last time you enjoyed a family gathering without someone taking photos or videos and posting them online the same day? Not saying pictures or videos are bad, but some only take them with social media angles in mind. Maybe try enjoying the moments and just share the photos privately with those who were there, instead of online so others can “heart it”.
3. Diminished motivation.

Why work hard when everything is right there for you? Have you noticed your goals or progress on your dreams slowing down? How much free time are you spending online or enjoying instant pleasures? There is more gratification from the process and achievement from a long-term goal. The pleasure from short instant ones, never truly last and hardly lead to self-motivation. Start tracking how often you get side tracked from your desired task, that’s how many snack breaks, phone breaks, social media breaks and so on throughout the day. Once you record this behavior, ask yourself is this what you want and are you ok with the amount of time spent on these distractions? It is up to you to determine how much time your want to spend.
Take an interest in yourself and how you interact with instant gratification. Are you happy with your daily behaviors in this area? If so, more power to you! If not, start tracking how much time and instances you see this happening. Set healthy boundaries for yourself to balance your interaction with instant gratifications to take back your planned daily goals.
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