In life, we all have certain needs that are important to us. Some of these needs are safety, love, time to relax, and respect. We all have the same basic needs, but how we meet those needs is different for each person.
There are two main ways to meet a need: right away or at a later time. People sometimes call this "immediate or delayed gratification."
Immediate Gratification
Most of the time, people meet their needs by getting what they want right away. This means that they don't want to wait for something to happen in the future. Instead, they'd rather have it right now.
But short-term happiness often comes at the cost of long-term failure in life. This is because when needs are met right away, they are often met with little or no thought for what will happen in the future.
For example, one of our most basic human needs is comfort, and everyone wants some level of comfort in their lives. But if you choose to satisfy that need right away, such as by sitting around all day and watching TV or playing video games, you probably won't do anything important with your life.
Deferred Satisfaction
This doesn't mean it's bad to be comfortable. If you choose to put off satisfying your need for comfort and instead work on other parts of your life, like your finances or relationships, you're more likely to be successful in the long run.
But putting off pleasure is much harder than it sounds. The truth is that the society we live in tends to make people want things right away. By giving us quick fixes and entertainment when we want them. People have become used to getting what they want right away, whereas 50 years ago, they were more willing to work for what they wanted and wait.
This has also made people think that if they don't see results right away, they should just give up and try something else. Because of this, many people complain that they don't have much success in life, even though they didn't put much time or effort into what they were trying to do. If they don't "make it" within a few months, or even worse, a few weeks, they usually just give up.
This is a very important trait to recognise, because people who are very successful are experts at putting off pleasure. They don't try to meet their needs right away with quick fixes or schemes to get rich quickly. Instead, they know that success takes time and hard work. And this means putting off the natural urge to get something right away.
Since successful people are the same as you and me, this means they still don't like doing the same things you and I don't like doing. But they are able to do them anyway because they know that's the only way to be truly successful in life. So how do they resist the urge to get something right away? With lots and lots of discipline!
