Resist Instant Gratification and Achieve Your Goals

Our world values speed and convenience. The faster, the better. 

Modern-day conveniences aren’t inherently wrong. (Who doesn’t like receiving their baby kitten wall calendar from Amazon with two-day shipping?) They provide many of our everyday needs in a timely and efficient manner. Speed has become a basic necessity in a culture accustomed to instant social media, same-day delivery and fast food.

But what happens when we begin to expect instant results in all aspects of life?    

The lure of instant gratification

Many people desire to improve their health, strengthen relationships, reach career goals, learn a new skill, etc. But these goals can feel so distant and difficult to attain that many look for easy shortcuts.

Consider some of the ways we tend to value instant gratification:

• Fast food vs. healthy eating. Instead of eating nutritious meals, we often choose to consume fast food that is quick and easy, but not particularly good for us. 
• Quick fixes vs. healthy living. Instead of consistent healthy eating and exercise, we may try a weight loss drug that promises miraculously quick results. 
• Get rich quick vs. a dedicated work ethic. Instead of working hard to prepare ourselves for a career, we may pursue “get rich quick” schemes. 
• Quick engagements vs. long-term dating. Instead of allowing time for a relationship to develop, we may try to fast-forward to an engagement within days or weeks. 
• Intimacy now vs. intimacy after marriage. Instead of waiting for marriage before experiencing intimacy, we may try to experience it now. 
• Buying on credit vs. saving and paying. Instead of saving for and purchasing items when we can afford them, we often buy what we want now, putting ourselves into debt.
• Entertainment vs. personal development. Instead of using our spare time to learn and study things that can improve our lives, we often choose to spend our free time on mindless entertainment or scrolling. 

Instant gratification tempts us in many ways, offering shortcuts that bypass the work involved in goal setting and follow-through. When we seek instant gratification, we are trying to reach our goals instantly and with minimal effort.

When we practice goal setting, we set a tangible goal and then put in the work and exercise the patience needed to see it through to completion. 

Why instant gratification leads to dissatisfaction 

Too often, we tend to follow a pattern that looks something like this: 

We identify a goal, develop a plan and enthusiastically hit the ground running. However, over time, we grow tired of the hard work and frustrated by the slow progress. Eventually, discouragement sets in, and we become vulnerable to the temptation of instant gratification.

The appeal of instant gratification can interfere with our ability to reach our goals in two ways. 

1. It can tempt us to abandon our long-term goals and pursue enjoyment and satisfaction in the present. 

For example, people may set long-term health goals but become discouraged if they don’t immediately see progress. Out of frustration, they may abandon their commitment to exercise and healthy eating and convince themselves that it isn’t doing them any good anyway. 

They eventually find themselves farther from their goal than they were when they started. 

2. It can trick us into thinking there are shortcuts to achieving our goals.  

It’s easy to look around and see others achieving their goals with relative ease. Social media can make a person appear to be an overnight success. However, in reality, challenging goals are rarely accomplished quickly by anyone.

Consider the example of people pursuing a financial goal. One day, they see an ad for a program promising quick and easy wealth and excitedly sign up. However, they may soon discover that the program isn’t as easy or sure as advertised—in fact, it may have been deceptive or an outright scam. As their financial situation fails to improve—or gets worse—they get even more discouraged.  

Instant gratification focuses on the here and now, providing a type of satisfaction that is often superficial and fleeting. Such an example shows the fundamental flaws of instant gratification. 

Instant gratification focuses on the here and now, providing a type of satisfaction that is often superficial and fleeting. It also promises more than it can deliver, setting us up for disappointment. 

The rewards gained through instant gratification are often less satisfying than we imagine they will be, and the satisfaction provided is usually short-lived. This results in the need to find new forms of instant gratification and the cycle continues. As it says in Proverbs 27:20, “The eyes of man are never satisfied.” 

It is clear that avoiding instant gratification is critical to long-term success and lasting fulfillment. But how do we resist and overcome its pull? 

Steps for overcoming the lure of instant gratification 

1. Have a clear vision of achieving your goals. 

Having goals is one thing; envisioning ourselves achieving them is another. Having a clear vision of the end result makes our goals feel tangible and attainable. This will help us resist the temptation to give in to instant gratification.  

Jesus Christ exemplified this perfectly throughout His physical life. He was fully aware of the goal He sought to achieve and the suffering He needed to endure in order to fulfill His purpose—to live a perfect life, die for mankind’s sin, be resurrected and sit at His Father’s right hand. 

His ability to foresee the end result of His sacrifice was crucial. It allowed Him to withstand extreme temptation from Satan, including the offer of power over the kingdoms of the earth if He abandoned His mission and worshipped Satan instead (Matthew 4:1-11; Luke 4:1-13).

Christ recognized this trap and refused to fall for Satan’s offer of instant gratification. By doing so, He became “the author and finisher of our faith,” fulfilled His goal and now sits “at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2).

2. Have faith that God will help you achieve your goals.

If our goals align with God’s will and fall within the confines of His law, we should pray for His help in achieving them. He promises to provide help when we bring our needs and wants to Him in accordance with His will (Matthew 21:22; 1 John 5:14-15). But after we ask for His help, we must continue to do our part in working towards our goals while also patiently waiting for His help.

This takes patient endurance, which is the opposite of instant gratification. 

Apart from faith and patience, we must also consistently live His way. “Delight yourself also in the LORD, and He shall give you the desires of your heart” (Psalm 37:4). 

For a more detailed study on faith, read “How to Grow in Faith” and “Hebrews 11: The Faith Chapter.” 

3. Actively work toward your goals.

Asking God for help and having patient faith that He will help is the critical first step to achieving our goals. But it doesn’t end there.

Looking for shortcuts or refusing to do the required work will only contribute to our failure to achieve our goals. 

The Bible is clear that diligence and hard work lead to success (Proverbs 21:5; 10:4). (For more on this topic, read “How to Overcome Laziness.”)

The good news is that God does not leave us alone.

If we are willing to dedicate ourselves to working toward our goals, He will strengthen and encourage us along the way. Though it may take time, He will establish the work of our hands (Psalm 90:17). 

4. Spend your time wisely. 

Every day, we are presented with various options and decisions regarding how we will use our time. As we confront different choices, we can determine which decisions and actions will contribute to our ability to complete our goals and which will not. 

In Ephesians 5:16, the apostle Paul emphasizes the importance of “redeeming the time.” We are given a finite amount of time, and what we choose to do with it is important. Even minor distractions, often instant gratification in disguise, can steal away the precious time that we could be dedicating to our goals.

Ephesians 5:16 teaches us the importance of redeeming time, but it also warns us of something else. The latter half of the verse reads, “because the days are evil.” Satan knows that one of the best tools to prevent us from using our time wisely and pursuing our goals is the temptation to sin. Sometimes, he presents this temptation in the form of instant gratification. 

When this is the case, we need to be extra diligent in discerning what is right and what is not (1 Thessalonians 5:21-22). 

Consider the following example: A young man has set a goal of earning straight A’s. In one of his classes, he has an exam coming up that will determine whether or not he achieves his goal. Faced with the pressure to perform well, he chooses to cheat rather than use his time to study. At the end of it all, he may receive the grade he desires. But even if he avoids being caught, he still has not accomplished what should have been his goal—mastering the subject matter of his classes. 

Breaking God’s law will prevent us from achieving our most important goals.

5. Make the most of the waiting period. 

Hard work is essential to achieving our goals. But sometimes we must do something that can feel even more difficult: wait. 

Anyone who has ever had to wait for something he or she desperately wanted knows it can be one of the most challenging things to do. Not knowing when we will finally achieve our long-awaited goals is hard.

With faith, hard work, patience and perseverance, we can accomplish our goals and resist the temptations of instant gratification. Our vision can start to fade over time, and discouragement can set in. 

But we don’t have to sit still while we wait. We can find other worthwhile goals, hobbies or opportunities to pursue while we wait. Pursuing other opportunities helps us avoid impatience by distracting us from the wait time. (For more on waiting, read “Waiting on God.”)

We can also pursue some short-term goals while we are working toward our bigger goals. Adding in short-term goals, such as setting aside time each day to read or establishing a new morning routine, can provide some much-needed encouragement. Seeing ourselves make progress in these smaller areas can motivate us to continue working toward our long-term goals. 

6. Resist discouragement.

The path to achieving our goals is not always a straight line. There will be ups and downs, successes and setbacks. 

These ups and downs have the potential to lead to discouragement, which can be a powerful enemy. It’s very easy to focus on the areas in which we still lack. While we need to realistically assess the areas that still need improvement, we can also benefit tremendously from recognizing how far we have come and how much God has helped us. 

We need to track our progress and acknowledge when we reach certain milestones. Adopting a positive outlook is critical to warding off discouragement. It’s easy to grow weary, but we must not allow ourselves to lose heart (Galatians 6:9). 

(For a deeper study on the topic of discouragement, read “Overcoming Discouragement.”)

Resisting instant gratification leads to greater satisfaction 

With faith, hard work, patience and perseverance, we can accomplish our goals and resist the temptations of instant gratification.

In doing so, we can attain greater, lasting fulfillment and satisfaction. 

The goals we accomplish will significantly benefit us. Still, perhaps the greatest reward of all is knowing what it took to achieve them and that we didn’t allow the temptation of instant gratification to obstruct our path to success.

Photo credit: iStock.com/JohnnyGreig

Date Posted: July 15, 2024