Why do we always choose instant gratification?

There isan answer to the question “Is it better to have an egg today or a chicken tomorrow?” The egg meets the need for nourishment today and the chicken, on the other hand, the need in the long run, since it can give you more eggs and, one day, be eaten. Okay, laying hens are generally not eaten but that is not the point: the point we want to reason about is the difference between something you get (and consume) today and what you decide to consume in the future, that is, between instant gratification and long-term benefits.

Health is your chicken: you can eat some every day (the eggs, then) or keep it as intact as possible for incalculable benefit in the future. Or to have many more chances to enjoy it. To do that, you know by now, you have to take care of your body as much as possible, eat well, exercise, rest.

In fact, we will not repeat it to you but focus on another aspect, if only to make you think: why do we prefer instant gratification to future benefit (which is much greater)?

A bit of psychology

Instant gratification and long-term benefits are fundamental concepts in behavioral psychology, that branch of psychology that studies why we make certain choices and what influences them.

Gratification can have two declinations: immediate gratification (the egg) and future gratification, also called “delayed gratification.” And you must have understood that we are talking about the chicken.

We have all succumbed or still succumb to instant gratification when we indulge in too many pleasures, heedless of the damage they can do to us, especially when intervals of time are repeated. Indeed, there would be nothing wrong with continually gratifying oneself, except for the downside of doing so. For example: spending all money on pleasures instead of investing it wisely is the equivalent of eating haphazardly and not caring about the potential damage. In short, we are talking about unwise or downright harmful behaviors whose results are only seen over time, when the effects of gratification have already worn off.

Long-term benefits, on the other hand, come from the ability to forgo instant gratification for better results in the future (unfortunately, one excludes the other, no escaping). Seeking benefits in the long run (or delayed) requires a lot of self-control and vision: after all, you are investing energy and willpower to cash in on the result of your efforts a long time from now.

All the fault of willpower?

Who to blame if you lack the ability to invest in your health over time? With you, of course! Joking aside, don’t feel guilty: the preference for the egg today is completely natural and has to do with a somewhat perverse but very effective mechanism, and that is that of reward. In other words, any instant gratification is experienced by our psyche as a well-deserved reward. What you decide for is up to you, but a few examples will give you a better understanding: have you ever eaten twice as much after a workout “Because after all, I deserve it: I’ve worked hard”? Or did you have an extra drink because the weight of life on some days gets very heavy? Here: there is never a shortage of opportunities to say “I really deserve it.”

By this we do not mean that one should not indulge in pleasures and rewards, only that one should not do so all the time. Or that, at least, one should be aware that it is better to limit oneself or avoid altogether.

Realizing the perverse workings of the mechanism is the first step to unveiling when it is set in motion, to counter it. To succeed in this, it is wise to focus on the benefits you will surely have by choosing “the chicken tomorrow”: more financial strength, better physical fitness, and above all, health to enjoy.

One last piece of advice

However, we don’t want to leave you alone with just a handful of words and a nice explanation: after all, it’s better to have a trick to at least lead yourself to that virtuous path, isn’t it? Here then is the advice: whenever you give up instant gratification, do not think about the pleasure you have denied yourself but rather enjoy the satisfaction that your willpower is making you experience. It’s not like having an extra drink or eating a tub of ice cream, but it helps a lot. After all, you had better treat your will well: along with your brain, it is the only one responsible if you can eat your chicken in a few decades. Or make friends with her, who knows. Continuing to eat the eggs finally.

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