How to overcome immediate gratification
Watch your impulses
It happens to all of us that when we are working or have the opportunity to do something important for our lives and goals, Netflix comes across a marathon of our series of the moment, a huge bowl of potato chips, the need to check Instagram, any distraction. or sabotage for our true goals. This happens to all of us, but it doesn’t mean that we have to give in to those urges every time they happen. Something that helps is to have an “impulse report”, a sheet or a digital space in which you write down all the impulses that distract you during the day. Be careful: just write them down, don’t give in. You will see that writing them helps your brain to calm the anxiety to comply with them.
Delay momentum
Instead of acting on your impulses the moment they arrive, pause (there, for example, is a good time to write in your report). If you want (and if it applies, because this may not work if your goal has to do with your physical appearance), you can promise yourself that as soon as you finish doing what really matters, you will make space to satisfy your list of distractors.
Make conscious decisions
If you decide to indulge in instant gratification, that’s fine; we are only human. However, do it mindfully, not just to follow an impulse. Decide that it is healthy for you to do it, that you can afford it, that it is an act of compassion for your body. Do things with a conscience, without guilt and not as a simple reaction.
See the result
If you’ve already fallen, see how you feel or what happens next and assess whether or not doing so was the right decision. Thus, the next time you see yourself in the possibility of giving in to something, there will already be a cause-consequence connection that will make you make better decisions.