Always eat dessert before dinner.
Overly-delayed gratification.
When I was a kid, I honestly might have been a genius.
Here was my philosophy when it came to how I ate my dinner:
Always eat dessert before dinner.
Why?
Because on the off-chance that a random meteor came down and destroyed the Earth as I was finishing up dinner but before I ate dessert, I’d be super bummed that I didn’t get to enjoy my dessert.
So to ensure this didn’t happen, I made sure to always eat dessert first.
That way, even if I the meteor came, I’d at least have enjoyed my ice cream.
As stupid as this sounds, I remember vividly justifying my behavior with this “logical” argument.
So how does this genius philosophy apply to our adult life?
Fair question.
While I’ve changed my tune on eating dessert before dinner, I do think young Flickman was on to something, namely:
The importance of enjoying life each and every day — prioritizing the things you like in life.
I’m not saying avoid things you don’t like (doing things we don’t like is necessary) — but just get the order right.
Eat your veggies after dessert.
Life is short, and if we don’t take time to enjoy it, then what is the point?
Light the good candles and drink the good wine.
But wait…
What about delayed gratification?
Isn’t that the key to long-term success?
Overly-Delayed Gratification
As kids, we have zero patience.
We cannot control our impulses.
We want it all and we want it now.
But as we grow up, we mature.
We realize that if we live with such a short-term view of world, our long-term results will suffer.
If you eat junk food everyday, you’ll get diabetes.
If you don’t exercise, you’ll get fat.
If you don’t get smarter, you won’t get a job and you’ll be broke.
We start to see the negative consequences of our shortsightedness and so we adjust our game plan.
We learn to delay our gratification — to trade a harder today for an better tomorrow.
Which is great — it’s a necessary adjustment.
However, what happens when we take it too far?
When we delay gratification too long or wait too long to enjoy our lives?
Don’t we want the gratification at some point?
Or are we just trying to cancel the gratification altogether?
And what’s the optimal amount of time to delay the gratification?
Are we going to be 90 years old sitting behind our laptops “grinding” so that we can be financially free in our 120s?
Are we going to skip the bingo night after party at our old person’s home to “invest in our future”?
Are we going to be counting calories at our final supper?
When do we flip the switch and actually start enjoying life?
A Simple Solution
Enjoy life on the way.
Find nondestructive ways to do it — ways that don’t sabotage your progress.
Choose activities that push you forward but also bring you fulfillment.
Instead of 40 years of grind followed by 20 years of fun — try 4 hours of grind followed by 2 hours of fun, each and every day.
Same grind / fun ratio but you’re bringing some of that fun into each and everyday.
That way, if the meteor strikes, you’ve at least eaten your ice cream.
That’s all for today.
Until next time,
Flickman