The Balance Between Delayed Gratification and the Present

“There’s no greatness in the future, or clarity, or insight, or happiness, or peace. There is only this moment.” This is from Stillness is the Key by Ryan Holiday.

Nick Wignall writes in response: “As children, we’re taught to delay gratification - to forgo the pleasures the moment in order to reap the rewards of the future. … But it’s easy to misapply this lesson. To constantly live in the future in expense of the present.”

Man, does this resonate in my life.

I feel like I’m always oscillating between the two perspectives - I am constantly looking toward the future, especially when I started this business.

However, I’m also trying to live in the moment. Trying to keep things in perspective. Taking time off each time I burn out (that’s right, it’s happened more than once) to reflect, realign, and come back fresh.

But I’m mixing this new knowledge in with IFS (Internal Family Systems Therapy) which says that every part of you wants the best for you, they just interpret it differently.

I clearly have one part that drives me to get this business done.

And quite another that drives me to enjoy my life, to not leverage my future against my present.

Threading the needle between living in the moment and delayed gratification is such an important skill to have.

And threading the needle between two opposing perspectives that are each true may be one of the most important skills you can develop.

Join us this week as we discuss this and more.

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