There are a lot of traits that will help you succeed in life but there seems to be one that keeps coming up in everything I am reading and that is deferred gratification. Not matter what I am reading or studying deferred gratification comes up every time and for good reason.

The Stanford Marshmallow Experiment

In this study, kids were told they could have one marshmallow right now or have two marshmallows in 15 minutes. The scientist would then leave the marshmallow on the table and come back. They would get the second treat if they did not eat the first one. What they found was the kids that were able to defer gratification, wait for the two marshmallows, showed increased SAT scores, higher levels of education, improved BMI, and improvements in other areas of life. *

By waiting just 15 minutes the kids were able to double their reward and this shows the willingness to pay for something now to get something better later.

Investing in Retirement

When you are young putting money away for retirement seems unnecessary, “it is so far away I don’t have to worry about that”. But with the amount of time young people have that is the best time to start investing in their retirement, due to compound interest.

Lets look at two scenarios. The goal is to have 1 million dollars for retirement by the time you are 65 years old.

#1 - A 43 year old would have to save $1,080 a month in order to reach 1 million dollars by the age of 65.
#2 - A 20 year old would have to save just $95 a month in order to reach 1 million dollars by the age of 65.
**

By only saving $100 a month someone can become a millionaire. Instead of spending $100 a month on something with instant gratification we can delay that gratification and have piece of mind that we won’t have to live with our kids when we get older.

This is waiting for 2 marshmallows instead of taking the one marshmallow. By giving a little now we can get more later, with the magic of compound interest and deferred gratification.

Health and Wellness

Now how does this help us with our health, wellness, and fitness goals? Well I’m glad you asked.

The two areas were we can really use this concept is in nutrition and training.

Nutrition

Instant gratification is huge when it comes to food. It is so easy to have seconds or thirds, that extra cookie, 3-4 trips to the pantry throughout the day and these are perfect examples of taking that single marshmallow right away.

Eating three well-balanced, whole-food meals a day at a table with no screens is waiting the 15 minutes for the extra marshmallow. Cooking your own food, meal prepping, sitting with your family, and staying off the phone and tv will help improve your health and wellness but this is hard and you have to delay that gratification.

All nutrition based goals are about building healthy habits and delaying gratification. Eating chips and ice cream is pleasurable but in order to improve your health, performance, aesthetics, or a combination of all of them you have to delay that feeling for the reward of hitting your goals later.

Working Out

When it comes to working out, it is similar to nutrition. However there are two parts where we can delay for future gains. The first is just simply working out. Working out 3-5 days a week for an hour will help you in all avenues of your life but it takes time and commitment to see results. It is not always fun getting up at 5:30 am or working out in 90 degree heat but by doing that work now you will see results later.

The second part is taking the time to work on mechanics and moving well before “maxing” out. Building mechanics is an investment in the future so you can stay injury free and will have the skills and competence to push hard in the future.

Wrap It Up

Having the self awareness to defer short term gratification will yield greater results later. No matter what your goals are having the ability to defer gratification will certainly help you achieve those goals. This is a skill that can be learned and honed like any other skill. Some may come to it a bit easier than others but everyone can improve and get a little better everyday. Start investing in yourself today.

A great book to check out about a similar concept is Mindset. Check it out.

What are your thoughts on deferred gratification? Do you have a story of how this concept helped you? Is this an area you want to improve? Let me know in the comments or email me berek.bryan@equity.fitness

Ready to invest in yourself and take the next step on your health and fitness journey?
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Cheers,
Berek

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* - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_marshmallow_experiment
** - The Monday Guy Show - “How Much to Save Every Month to Become a Millionaire” (https://www.moneyguy.com/resources/)