4A: Patience is Key

Being a kid, you feel like you have to wait for everything.  Wait for your birthday, wait for Christmas, wait for Easter, etc.  That really wasn’t delayed gratification, but at the time it felt like it.  Then you get a little older, you have to wait still.  You have to wait until you are 16 to drive, stay out later and go to the mall alone.  Then, finally, you turn 17 and you take all your hard earned money that you have been saving and buy a car.  That is worth waiting for and, definitely, delayed gratification.  I am sure that there will be more things, as I get older, that will be worth waiting for, but I will take it one step at a time.  I might not be the most patient person, but I do think that there are something things worth waiting for.

Many people think that Americans are extremely impatient people.  I hate to admit that this statement is true, but, I can’t prove that statement otherwise.  We have a very fast paced and busy life style in America.  There are many different reasons for this.  A few reasons could be because of the ever changing stock market, the millions of new trends that happen every day, or because the media produces the news as soon as it happens.  Whatever the reason, Americans are constantly moving and rushing around. A lot of products adjusted to our busy needs.  For example, fast food restaurants popped up everywhere; the internet began running faster, for much longer; and the media found quicker ways to get all the information and news to the public.

Our society is definitely dependent upon instant gratification. That doesn’t mean we are unsuccessful people and it doesn’t mean that we can’t wait for certain things.  We just chose not to, if we have the option.  According to “The Daily Best”, there is no correlation between delaying gratification and success later in life.  Eigsti’s team” found that how long they could avoid eating the cookie, when they were 4 year olds, had zero correlation to IQ or self-control at age 18. Zero.” This was also the final result of a duplicated “marshmallow test.” 

 I believe that within this fast paced lifestyle, Americans would not be able to slow down or wait. If we were forced to slow down and strengthen our self-control, a lot of people would be very upset and start to develop a bad attitude.   I also think there is no need to strengthen our self-control.  We are very strong and comfortable in our lifestyle.  Technology keeps improving, moving faster and faster for longer periods of time.  At this point, all we can do is try to keep up with the ever evolving technology and keep the pace in our comfort zone.