Dear Shiva, How do you reconcile the dichotomy of living for the moment with the adage that in order to accumulate wealth one must put off gratification? Timmy, Bassendean
Good question Timmy, the willpower to resist a smaller but more immediate reward in order to receive a larger or more enduring reward is an essential element to achieving success in life. Research at Stanford University has proven that children that can delay gratification achieve higher grades, lower levels of substance abuse, lower likelihood of obesity, better responses to stress, better social skills as reported by their parents, and generally better scores in a range of other life measures. Once, Charles Bukowski was asked what advice he would give to young writers and he said, “Drink, fuck and smoke plenty of cigarettes.” I guess the question you have to ask yourself Timmy is this, ‘Do you want to work hard your entire life so you can eat a couple of extra marshmallows in a fancy car when you are 70 or do you want to live at the edge of the miraculous”?
