Hey Bestie! Do you realize that instant gratification has you by his hooks?
Don’t believe me? Well, take a look at how everything is so easily accessible. There’s fast food, social media, instant searches, same day shipping, and more!
Almost everything is instantly at your finger tips so its no wonder why instant gratification has you in its grips! Don’t worry, we’ll talk about how to stop it.
This post is all about how to stop instant gratification.
What Does Instant Gratification Mean
“I want it and I want it now” is the song that instant gratification sings. Instant gratification is the urge to satisfy a craving immediately.
When you allow instant gratification to lead, it’s typically rooted in an emotional response. You have a system in your body that’s responsible for controlling emotional drives and memory formation. It’s called the Limbic system.
You can think of the Limbic system as the brain’s networking system. What happens is your body has chemical messengers called neurotransmitters that carry “messages” from your nerve cells to whatever cell that needs the “message”.
When it comes to instant gratification, the neurotransmitter that’s released is dopamine. One example of this is when you are uncomfortable in a place, the first thing you reach for is your phone.
Am I right? It’s because utilizing your phone makes you feel better and your brain basically interprets that as a reward.
Dopamine is all about reinforcement. It encourages you to repeat behaviors even if they are negative. So if you find yourself consistently in self sabotaging behaviors, your brain is behind it. The self sabotaging habits are releasing dopamine.
Honestly, it’s really easy to find yourself distracted from things that don’t bring immediate pleasure. Let’s just say that you have a big project coming up with small projects in between.
You may procrastinate on the big project and take on the smaller ones because of the feeling that comes from finishing. The feeling you would’ve had in this scenario is stemmed from you guessed it: Instant gratification.
Why Is Instant Gratification Bad
There’s no such thing as good and bad although the terms are used to describe pleasant and unpleasant things. Instant gratification is one of those things that is dismantling the human character.
You were created in God’s image after his likeness to have dominion over the fish of the seas, the birds of the air, the livestock, over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth (Genesis 1:26 ESV).
Dominion requires you to be an active partner with God to make earth look just like Heaven. This calls for you to be an avid learner who has an attention span that is longer than ten seconds.
The inventions you love are slowly destroying one of your most valuable characteristics needed for your work, which is patience.
The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, PATIENCE, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control; against such things there is no law (Galatians 5:22-23 ESV).
Patience is a part of your essence being that you are spirit first. Remember you came out of God so whatever is in him is in you.
The Greek word for fruit is the word karpos. Karpos means “that which originates or comes from something; an effect or result”. It also means “work, act, or deed”.
Bestie, as long as you allow it, instant gratification will take a vital piece of your character. You need patience because it is a part of who you are.
Everything is not meant to be fast or at your fingertips. Some things take years to grow and/or achieve. Instant gratification along with comparing where you are to someone’s highlight reel on social media will rob you of the beauty of your individual process and journey.
You may be wondering why God is taking so long with your promise, but maybe you’ve lost the fruit of patience. If you have, you don’t have to worry because you can be grafted to grow this fruit again.
What Are Some Instant Gratification Examples
Instant gratification says “I want it and I want it now”. It is the desire to experience immediate pleasure without having to wait. Here are some examples of instant gratification:
1. Settling For Counterfeits
This is a big one and it can be experienced in many ways. One of the most common ways is when you are trying to wait on God. Counterfeits will come and some of them might convince you that it’s from the Lord at first.
Anytime God tells you to wait, it’s for a purpose. Most people struggle in waiting for a relationship. If you are single, please know that you’re not in a relationship right now for a reason. Everyone is not built to build with you.
Although waiting for a relationship is prevalent, it’s not the only area that you can settle for a counterfeit. You may have the resources to go into business like you always dreamed of, but “something doesn’t feel right”. That “something” may be Holy Spirit telling you to pump the breaks and check in with him.
There is a reason why you feel that feeling and if you haven’t heard the word “wait” directly, the Lord may be showing you other signs that you should trust him and wait. How many roadblocks does he need to put up for you to get the idea?
Even in your shopping, its easy to get a counterfeit bag or outfit with a design on it. Wouldn’t you rather have the real thing or is it just about the look?
I remember the time when I almost settled for a counterfeit. I was out of college, and working on retaking my certification exam in order to get into my field of study.
After my failed attempt, I finally passed, and began applying to ever job I could. To my surprise, each job I applied to rejected me as if I didn’t have the credentials.
Not long after, God told me to stop putting in applications and that if he wanted me with a job that it would come out of no where. I wanted a job, but I didn’t keep going.
I’m sure if I would’ve pressed my way that someone would’ve hired me, but then I’d be settling for a counterfeit. Bestie, as hard as it may be wait on the Lord.
If you’ve ever settled for a counterfeit, know that God can restore you. You will still have to deal with the consequences of your actions, but he will make a way for you.
Ask Abraham who is known as “the father of faith”. He had a child with his wife’s servant, but God still used him.
2. Dumping Your Problems On Someone
Knowing another human is there for you can immediately comfort you. Sometimes you need to vent, but who you vent to matters. When you give your problems and issues to another human, you have to realize that that can drain them in way.
Jesus said “Cast your cares on him for HE cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7 NLT). Before you go to another person with your problems, talk it out with God. You may find gratification as well as answers as you speak aloud to him.
3. Reaching For Your Phone When You’re Alone
If you’re always facing a screen, how could you ever face yourself and the world around you? When is the last time you were fully present when you were alone?
Your phone is should not be your crutch. Life is not supposed to be lived for or through a screen Bestie. I know your phone is important to you, but don’t allow it to take over your life.
It’s okay to be alone and take in the world around you. Will it be awkward? Probably, but once you start to do it, you’ll get used to it.
4. Staying In Bed Instead Of Getting Up Early
Have you ever hit the snooze button multiple times when you knew you should get up? Your comfort is the antithesis of your goals.
It’s important that you understand that your mind can be your biggest enemy or your biggest advocate when it comes to living your dream life.
You have to train your mind to do what you want it to do because you are in control of it. When that alarm clock rings, your mind will find every excuse to tell you why you shouldn’t get up.
It will tell you “just five more minutes”, “I could lay here a little longer”, “I’m so comfortable, I can start tomorrow”, and a number of other excuses.
You can’t allow this to happen anymore especially since you know better. Don’t allow the mind to cause you to self sabotage your goals. Don’t hit that snooze Bestie!
5. Grabbing Something Quick To Eat, Instead Of Making A Meal At Home
The fast food business is making bank off of you! Can I let you in on a secret? The colors of fast food restaurant chains promote hunger psychologically.
Marketing experts refer to the pairing of red and yellow as the “Ketchup and Mustard” theory. How many fast food restaurants can you name that feature the colors red and yellow in their logo?
The color red grabs your attention and triggers hunger and appetite while yellow triggers feelings of comfort. Even the color green in restaurants has a underlying reasoning.
It stimulates the idea that a place is more health conscious. I’m sure you’ve seen advertisements of establishments “going green”.
Maybe you don’t eat fast food, but you buy something quick in the store to cook. Take a look at the labels of the foods before purchasing. Most of the things are now saying “contains bioengineered food ingredients” (at least in America). The food that’s available is not even real anymore!
Bestie, beware of the need for things to be quick that you’ll end up putting inside of your body. All the high fructose corn syrup in products are what’s causing underlying disease in the lives of you and your loved ones.
How To Stop Instant Gratification
It will take work to break the habit of instant gratification. This is going to be a process so prepare your mind for the long haul. The process doesn’t have to be a difficult one unless you choose that it will be. Here are some ways to stop instant gratification:
1. Get With God
Everything started in the mind of your Creator. God knows the best way for you as an individual to stop instant gratification in your life. You have to get with him to figure out his specific purpose for you. Only he can lay out the path for you to become the best version of yourself.
2. Figure Out Your Triggers
Instant gratification usually is sparked by a trigger. Why do you need “that” right now? Is it because you think it’ll make you feel better? Are you using it as avoidance or a distraction from your feelings? What is triggering you to feel this way?
3. Practice Slow Living
Slow living is all about slowing down the pace of your life so that you can see what really matters to you. You can take one area of your life and say “I’m going to take my time in this area and learn to enjoy the process”.
A great tool in practicing slow living is mindfulness. Mindfulness is all about paying attention to what you’re doing in a single moment.
Let’s say you’re doing something like washing the dishes. Being mindful would be to feel the water and soap on your hands.
Describe the feeling in your mind. Pay attention to how it sounds as you scrub each dish. Mindfulness is just taking in every moment of each activity that you do without distraction.
4. Learn About Yourself
The truth is a lot of the things you like and dislike may be conditioning. Explore the things that you say you like and dislike. Get away alone to learn about what you truly want in your life. Learn to hear your own thoughts and feelings without the distraction of another person. You’re worth getting to know.
5. Practice Denying Yourself
You will naturally tell a child no if he asked for candy for breakfast. Why? Because you know that that can be detrimental to his health. If you can tell a child no, then you can tell your mind no as well.
Pretend that your mind is a child that you are looking out for. Identify the “need” that it’s looking for and tell it to wait until later. The feeling will eventually pass as you wait it out.
6. Repent
The word repent means to change the way you think. This process will be a lifelong process so you need to get your mind prepared.
Bestie, you have to realize what you are. You are spirit, soul, and body in that order. Your spirit is supposed to lead followed by your soul and then your body.
Your spirit is the most authentic version of yourself; it’s who you really are. The soul is your mind, will, and emotions. Instant gratification is a soul issue.
You have to allow your spirit to be in control again by getting with God and changing the way that you think.
7. Let God lead
Everything that is in God is in you because you came out of him. He wants to not only be Savior, but Lord over your life. A lord is an owner.
Think about the word “land lord”. The person who is the land lord owns the property. The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof (Psalm 24:1 KJV). Because he created you, he owns you.
He is your Lord. Let him lead you Bestie because he knows best.
This post was all about how to stop instant gratification.
Remember you’re destined to win because he got up!
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