Delay Instant Gratification

People everywhere are looking for the easiest and quickest avenue to the pursuit of happiness. They all want to live a life of glamour, fame and fortune.

There is nothing wrong with desiring the finer things of life. It is actually a good sign when people desire to live a prime life and experience the best that this world can have. It shows that they have not stopped dreaming, for dreams are the seeds from which beautiful tomorrows grow.

We all want to receive rewards for our work and effort. We all desire to see the payoff of the sweat that we drip. We all desire to see the fruit of our toils. But the mega question is whether we are all able to go through the process that will bring the results that want.

There is a popular statement that a lot of people use to describe failed people. They usually say, “He ate the seed.” Off course this saying was borrowed from farming. Back in the day when farmers harvested they set aside part of their harvest aside to use as seed for the next season. If a farmer failed to set aside seed it meant they would not be able to plant in the next season and they would be faced with two choices, either to beg for the seed, or to beg for food for the whole year.

Let’s look at a humorous illustration that better illustrates this principle.

It’s said one year while a man was walking to his home he saw a Mango tree heavily laden with juicy and ripe mangoes. He approached the owner of the tree who happened to be a very kind and generous granny. The man asked, “Granny can I please get a few mangoes so I can give your grandchildren at home,” to which the grandmother replied, “Go ahead my son, there are too many of them you won’t finish these mangoes son.” This happened for the following four years. In the fifth year the man went to the granny’s tree again and asked to get a few mangoes. This time the grandmother replies, “My son when you get mangoes from my tree do you also eat with the seed?” The man walked away.

The moral of the story was that the man was interested in instant gratification. He knew what to do in order to be gratified for ever but he wasn’t willing. For some reason he never planted a tree of his own because apparently getting from someone’s tree is easier than planting your own tree and cultivating it till it starts to produce fruit over and over again for him.

Though this illustration is pregnant with humour the truth is most of us are like that. We know what we want and we want to have it, but we are not willing to go through what it takes to have what we want. A lot of people have been duped and conned because of the desire for instant gratification. They go to fake prophets and conmen looking for instant results because they are not ready to do what it takes.

The easiest way to get a crowd following you these days is promising people easy and quick results. Some have fallen for fake pyramid schemes that ask people to put in a thousand dollars and get a million in return. How naïve it is of some people to actually follow these adverts and cry foul when they are duped of their little hard earned money.

Some shortcuts are not worthy taking in the pursuit for true lasting success and greatness. You need to work hard to lay a strong foundation for your success so that when you finally blossom you will last longer than a paper flame. Develop yourself for the success you desire!

If you are interested in establishing legacies remember there is some work to be put in. Lay solid and deep foundations for your success. The higher you want to climb in the success altitude the deeper your foundation should be so that when your success is shaken it won’t crumble.

Some people start a business and a month down the line they use the little profit they have to buy a flashy car so that they are gratified. They spending recklessly and when they are broke people wonder what happened. Their desire for instant gratification was their fall!

All great people have learnt how to starve themselves of something they really needed so that they attain greatness. Some starved buying pretty shoes, handsome suits and flashy cars, some entertainment time.

Just remember that every dream has a price. There is a price you should pay and if you fail to pay it you won’t get the dream. Delay instant gratification and seek lasting gratification.

The writer is a motivational speaker

He can be contacted on glendhliwayo@gmail.com