Learn to wait a bit longer
TWO weeks ago, I met a young man who has so much debt that after he deducts his living expenses from his salary, only R500 is left over to pay for 11 accounts amounting to R7 300 a month.
Mind you, he earns a gross salary of R6 800 a month. This means each of the 11 accounts, will only receive R45 a month towards a total debt of R158 000.
The debt consists of loans, credit cards and clothing accounts – a sad and typical case of someone who just can’t save enough to buy what he wants.
These days, delayed gratification is a thing of the past. Look around you. Credit cards, technology and human weakness all contribute to the epidemic of immediate gratification we see today.
People are not able to wait longer. They play now and study later. They buy nice branded clothes and sacrifice their children’s educational savings.
They buy fast food instead of taking time to cook healthy meals. They do shoddy work and sacrifice quality so they can just get a salary. They want to do little work for high rewards.
Instant gratification makes people narrowminded, so they only see what’s in front of them.
Our thinking has been moulded to the point at which we think we can get what we want without any delay.
The reason why most people don’t practise delayed gratification is because the concept requires that they practise self-control.
You see, delayed gratification implies that there will be a pleasurable moment at the end of the tunnel.
There are a multitude of hidden benefits associated with practising delayed gratification.
If you take time to realise the big significance it can have on your life, you will soon begin to practise it with ease and reap the immense benefits.
There is a certain kind of beauty associated with delayed gratification that you just cannot put into words. Food tastes so much better when you wait for it.
The movie is always enjoyable when work is done. The pleasure of seeing your child go to school without you having to go to the bank or mashonisa is priceless.
The experiences we patiently wait for and look forward to become that much more colourful and memorable.
Sadly, not many people are able to enjoy the quality of life that comes with waiting because they cannot visualise this life. They can’t see how practising delayed gratification spills over to other areas of their lives.
Delayed gratification makes you see the big picture and how everything you do contributes to it.
You can learn it and be able to equate hard work with high rewards. You ’ ll soon realise that practising delayed gratification is less difficult than you thought.
You also see that you do have what it takes to overcome the weakness of instantaneous gratification that enslaves a majority of people.
Nothing in this world that ’ s worth having comes easy.
To join the debt-free movement visit www.bedebtfree.co.za