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Yesterday, I was scrolling through Facebook when I came upon a post from Deepak Chopra, famed spiritual teacher's, camp. He was answering a question that came from one of his followers. The question had me conflicted:
"Why should we eat right, exercise, push ourselves when in the end it’s the same for all of us?"
My first response to this question was: Yas! Tell me why I have to suffer eating cauliflower and oranges and deprive myself of the delicious wonder that is Mountain Dew, when we're all going to die at some point anyways.
Then the part of me that is growing, that is healing from her trauma and leveling up in every area of her life said well hold on now. That's your trauma talking. In reality, you are subjecting yourself to healthier eating habits because you want to have a better quality life.
And as it turns out, Mr. Chopra agreed with me.
"it only makes sense to take care of your body to extend your life and improve the quality of it. In neglecting your health you will be throwing away your experience of life."
It seems like this tug of war of having what I want and feeling good now versus later has been my biggest battle lately. In fact, there's a term for it: Instant Gratification, foregoing a future benefit in order to obtain a less rewarding but more immediate benefit. The fact of the matter is, while I may have a Mt. Dew today and it tastes so damn good, tonight, I will not be able to sleep. Tomorrow I will be sluggish. When I step on the scale, it will not be nice to me. In the end the instant gratification is never worth the trouble you have to go through later on. On the flip side of that, when we learn to sacrifice instant gratification, we will be much better off later on.
The biggest instance of instant gratification I am dealing with now is with my morning routine. As we've spoke about in this community multiple times, having a morning routine has helped me beat homelessness, it helps me stay present and focused on my goals, it keeps me grounded yet vibrating higher in a positive mindset. Knowing all of those benefits of my morning routine, I have been struggling with keeping up with it lately. Instead, I've been enjoying sleeping in. While pressing the snooze button feels good in the moment, I've been struggling with staying focused and positive. Issues that I could be avoiding if I were waking up to practice my morning routine.
So, for myself and for any of you out there who may be going through a similar struggle, I have complied my favorite tips for pushing through the instant gratification in order to build better habits. This is really just an entire blog post of me trying to hype myself back into my morning routine and back on the right track.
Instant gratification usually starts with a craving or strong feeling to do something that you know isn't the best for you but you also know feels so damn great in the moment. These cravings come in waves. Which means they come and they go. With that in mind, here are four ways you can curb those cravings and beat the instant gratification itch.
4 Tips for Dealing with Instant Gratification
1.Track and Attack your Triggers
Spend three days tracking your cravings and what triggered them. Then spend time working to find other positive outlets to calm those triggers.
For example, I know I feel a strong urge to press the snooze button when I stay up later than my bed time the night before. Don't get me wrong, I'm in bed by the time my bed time cruises around, yet instead of sleeping, I'm scrolling (Relatable right?).
One way to curb the habit that creates the instant gratification craving, could be to put my phone on it's charger outside of my bedroom. That way when I lay down for bed, I'm not tempted to scroll and I'm actually doing what I'm supposed to be doing; sleeping.
2.Hold Off on Fulfilling your Cravings
Along those same lines, another way to curb your craving is to fight through it. Remember, cravings and urges come in waves. It's right now, but it can be gone in an hour. I use this tip whenever I feel like cheating on #MyFitnessJourney. If I get the urge to order pizza for instance, I never immediately satisfy the craving. Instead, I do something else to keep my mind busy allowing some time to pass. If in an hour I am still craving pizza and the feeling hasn't passed, then I know this is a moment, where I can allow myself to enjoy a treat. As it's something my body clearly wants and deserves. Majority of the time, the craving is gone within an hour.
3.Set up Systems to Prevent Slip Ups
Something else you can do to completely curb your cravings in the first place is set up a system that won't allow you to give in to them. If you know that you don't have the capacity to cheat responsibly then get back to your program, then don't make it easy for yourself to cheat.
With #MyFitnessJourney , I have stopped purchasing candy, chips, and ice cream for my home. I know that I can't just have one or two cookies because there have been multiple occasions where I opened a pack and finished it within the hour. So, instead, I don't allow myself to buy cookies, or I buy single servings so that I'm forced to only eat a few.
This works in other instances too. For example, I've recently stopped putting my savings into bank accounts. Instead, I've moved my savings into my stock portfolio. No, it's not invested, it's just sitting in my account as cash flow. I do this, because I know it takes three days for me to move money from my stock account to my bank account. So, if I get a sudden urge to purchase something with the funds in my savings, I know I'm going to have to wait three days to be able to make that purchase and by then, the urge is long gone.
4.Trick Yourself into Having A Better Version of Your Craving
Today marks 110 days since I last had soda of any kind and over 70 days since I've last had any juice. Something that didn't register in my brain until it became a problem, was how much I would feel the withdrawals from sugar once I gave up soda.
Those withdrawals really had me craving sugar in a bad way back in the end of February. I was purchasing cupcakes, the pack of cookies, I mentioned above, happened during this time, and jars of frosting were bussin.
This was out of character for me. Usually when I have a craving it's pizza, taco bell, or chips; something savory, never anything sweet. So, for the longest time, I struggled through the cravings and failed miserably at sacrificing the instant gratification.
So, instead of continuing to fight the urge, I decided to give into it. I found a sweet treat that fit in perfectly with my macros, sugar free jello. This way, I can have something that tastes sweet every day, without messing up my progress. My cravings are fulfilled and my goals are still being met.
BOOM! I knew writing this post would help me remember the tips and tricks I've learned throughout #MyFitnessJourney and give me an idea to cure the craving to sleep in. I'm going to start putting my phone in my bathroom to charge at night so that I won't be tempted to scroll and see how that works out for me.
If you too, are struggling with instant gratification. Just know that you are not alone. Remember, no amount of gratification you have now is worth forfeiting a lifetime of gratification later. A little sacrifice now, will go along way to you having a better quality life, positive mind, and a higher vibration.
Stay strong, be #Blessed and Step into the Queen You're Meant to Be!
-Queen Maree
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON APRIL 21, 2021