Delayed gratification
Delayed gratification is an essential practice we all must take upon if we want to reach our true potential. You already do it in small ways, like working out in the gym or studying for a test. Nevertheless, if you consciously realize what you’re doing, you can apply delayed gratification to other areas of your life to level up in monumental ways.
Delayed gratification definition – what is it?
Delayed gratification is when you sacrifice pleasure in the moment in order to bring upon pleasure or success in the future.
The gym, just mentioned above, is a perfect example. Instead of sitting on your ass and watching Netflix, you sacrifice some temporary pleasure in order to workout. You’re delaying gratification now to get a result that’s going to positively impact you in the future. With the gym, you’re gratification won’t be that delayed as you’ll feel amazing after a solid workout. You’ll also look better and feel better in the coming weeks and months.
Delaying gratification isn’t just about suffering for the sake of suffering. However it’s about being able to go without right now, with the knowledge that your effort will be rewarded in the future. And when you put in the work consistently with anything, the universe will always reward you in some shape or another.
Why you should master delayed gratification
You practice delayed gratification in order to reach your true potential. It’s how you’re going to get where you really want to in life. If you want that nice high end corporate job, it’s going to take delayed gratification to get there. If you want to have your own business, you’re going to need to sacrifice fun now in order to build it up.
You can apply it to increasing your sexual market value so you can get the girls you want, or getting good at a skill you enjoy that will also increase your money / status.
Delayed gratification is putting in the work in now so you get the results later. You don’t need to never have any enjoyment in life. For example, you can be working at increasing your smv but also be dating girls. However, there are periods of extreme delayed gratification that can be beneficial to your success if you have the discipline.
I’ve gone through periods of monk mode (also doing nofap and semen retention) for 3 months where I’ve been able take time off of dating to blow up my business. And then I’ve also had periods where I enjoy my dating life more and reap the rewards.
However if I never used delayed gratification, I wouldn’t have had the ability to build myself up in terms of my career, dating, and fitness.
It’s been one of the best things I’ve done for my life, whether I’m being extreme with it or moderately doing it.
Where to apply delayed gratification
You can apply delayed gratification to any area of your life that you want to take leaps to level up in.
Business/money
Before anything else, you should be working to get your money right.
Financial freedom cannot be understated. When you have money in the bank, in investments, and control of your own income, you’re able to live life in a much more powerful position. It’s not necessarily about having the best cars or nicest jewelry. It’s just about having control of your life. You can live where you want, have a comfortable house / apartment, provide a good life for your family / kids / future kids, take of medical bills, and so on.
Applying delayed gratification when it comes to money is simple. If you have a job, it’s about putting in more time. Your situation may be one of just effort and hours that will lead to promotion. In many cases you might need to learn more information on your own in order to climb the corporate ladder.
Whatever it is, there’s some kind of work you can do to rise up at your job or get a better one.
And if you’re like me, then entrepreneurship is going to be something that you’ll definitely need delayed gratification for. With working a full time job, it took me a few months just to get my first “client” for my marketing agency where I did work for free to get a case study. From there I worked hard to help that company, and then worked further to get real paying clients.
Whatever business you start is going to take a lot of effort before you see the fruits of your labor. Expect to put at least 2 years of constant work before you see any real reward. If you get money before that then great, but don’t expect it.
Dating options
Dating is another area of your life where delayed gratification will pay off. From the questions I get, most guys suffer from a lack of options, whether at the club, online, or in the streets. They look decent enough to get a cute girl once in a while. But they aren’t high enough in the dating marketplace to really be where they want.
When you become valuable, whether it’s looks / money / status, you’re going to have more options with women. Period.
And you don’t need to be crazy successful in order to have a lot more girls want to date / sleep with you. But you need to be better than “a little above average”, which is where it seems most men think they are.
You need to get your body on point, style on point, get your career up, and throw some status in there. Then you’ll kill it with your dating options. You can get status through your career if you’re well known or just through getting good at a skill that’s cool.
By increasing your looks, money, and status, your confidence will go up, and you’ll feel like you deserve the best women. And therefore you’ll outwardly be more attractive and inwardly have the assurance. It takes delaying gratification of going out every weekend in the current so you can work on your body and money. However if you can keep yourself away from low quality women right now, you can build yourself up so you can get higher quality women consistently in the future.
People who practiced delayed gratification
Every successful man has practiced delayed gratification. Men like:
- Steve Jobs
- Elon Musk
- Muhammad Ali
All took time away from the pleasures of life in order to get to where they got. Do you think Steve Jobs would’ve built Apple if he was at the bar every night trying to talk to a girl he wasn’t even sure he wanted to bone? Or do you think Muhammad Ali would’ve become the boxer he was if he never trained and just worked a normal job, came home, and had a beer?
No. They all practiced delayed gratification in order to achieve what they did. You don’t need to be as extreme as them. But the examples are easiest seen in the most extreme versions. If you can have just a fraction of the delayed gratification they did, then you’ll see leaps of progress within your own life.
Bargain with the Future by giving up pleasure now
Jordan Peterson talks about Cain and Able from the Bible. I’m not particularly religious, however I’ve gained lots of wisdom from religious teachings and wisdom passed down through different traditions. Peterson discusses how sacrificing in the current can lead to success in the future. Sacrifice pleasure now so you can grind and then reap the rewards later on, aka delayed gratification.
Invest your time now to get what you want later
Everyone wants better things in life. That’s why all of you come to this corner of the internet at RD. You want to learn something that’s going to make your life better, whether it’s with money, women, fitness, your mindset, and so on.
In order to get the best things in life, you need to put in the work. Decide on what you want – whether it’s better women, your own business, a better body, and then put in the work. Delay gratification by sacrificing some of the extra entertainment or pleasure your pursue now so you can use that time in a better way. And then once you level up, you can enjoy the higher quality of what you’ve achieved.
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