So I wanted to write up a post on something that many people don’t seem to understand. A problem that makes a lot of people miserable and allows for a bunch of scams to circulate around on the internet.

The problem I’m talking about is that no one has the patience to work for anything and instead want to get everything for free without putting in any effort. The problem of people wanting instant gratification.

Instant gratification means that many people are willing to give up their long term goals for some short term pleasure. For example staying inside on a rainy day when you had planned to go out for a run because it is more comfortable inside, Or not going to the gym because you are a bit sore from the previous day. What you want to achieve is delayed gratification.

The most famous example of this phenomenon is the “Marshmallow test”, where Walter Michael ran a test that offered four-year-olds either: one marshmallow now, or two after a certain time. When he followed up on these children in their later life he realized that the ones able to resist eating the marshmallow immediately, had more success in life.

What does this tell you?

You should work hard now, and enjoy life later when you reap the rewards for your hard work. Because the world is not a crazy enough place to reward those who don’t deserve it.

“Acting like and adult when I was younger has allowed me to act like a child now when I’m older” – Unknown

 

Another reason people believe in instant gratification is that they never see the path a successful person has taken to reach their goals and achievements. Or any of the hard work they’ve had to put in. They only see the end-product, which is usually a perfectly chiseled statue.
Read more about the highlight reel effect: Stop comparing yourself to others

What you should take away from this post

Take the example of a perfectly chiseled statue: The sculpturer doesn’t go up to a piece of stone, hammer once, and then have the perfect statue.
He instead chisels away peace by peace, refining it until he has something that is worth showing. If he fails he starts over again, learning from his previous mistakes.

This is exactly what you will have to do: Start out slowly and build towards your goals. If you fail, learn from your goals and start over (or continue if that’s an option).

To be able to stay motivated on our path to success you will just need to hustle it out and believe that the rewards will come later.
One thing you can do to motivate yourself is to try and measure your progress. By doing this you can always compare to how you did 1 week, month or year back. This of course requires that you are able to track your progress in a way that is measurable.
When you set your goals you should set to achieve them at least 6 months into the future to have something to look back on .
Check also: 5 awesome inspirational videos

What do you do to keep motivated when slowly working towards your goals?