Instant gratification robs reality. Why? Things take their time. Yet the mind doesn’t – it’s fast.
“Things” take their time. Life takes its time. Chores take time to get done. It’s understood.
Today things change in a blink of an eye. Images flash before our eyes in an instant. We almost can’t catch up in the “information” world that drops in our inbox daily.
It’s overwhelming.
Our Smartphones, iPones, quick access to information has turned us into cerebral functioning human beings pushing the “autopilot” life style – take out dinner, instant deliveries, and a building frustration for anything that “Takes too long” to get.
I see it all the time, the frustration, the impatience.
I’ve experienced it too.
Two years ago I joined a gym with visions of being a slimmer version of me. What I imagined was nothing like the reality of my arduous workouts.
Reality is never what you imagine
I didn’t know how much I would hurt being physically active and then also in a resting state. It took weeks, months to even notice a change in my body. I became frustrated – wanted to give up. Why is it taking so long?
Because we live in two worlds.
Reality, which is the physical world. And the imagined, what we fill our minds with which keeps us in the “Go” mode.
So as our minds spin 1000 miles a second, here’s the time it takes for our physical body to do certain things :
- 30 days for the liver to regenerate
- 27 days for skin to renew
- 7 years for a woman’s body to renew
- Human plasma regenerates in 24 hours
- Red blood cells renew in 7 – 8 weeks
- 6 – 8 hours for food to digest in your stomach
- It takes weeks for your body to adjust to changes in diet. For example it will take a month (or more) to adapt to no sugar intake, or reducing the use of added salt – this I know from personal experience
If you wanted to start a garden it would take 2 – 3 weeks for a garden to start sprouting.
We can’t rush or push the speed of our physical life, only what we have in our minds – our thoughts and how fast we think. Often it’s out of sync with your body.
I write about this to share a different perspective about our lives and how we live it. And how much more we can get out of it if we live in reality more.
Learning Mindfulness is a great discipline to implement because it connects the mind with the physical and teaches understanding in accepting time as a distorted means to live one’s life by.
Two activities have taught me to recognize when I’m on autopilot, to observe it in others, and how to “Catch and shift”.
- The use of a timer. This keeps me grounded, from distorting what I think I can, or not get done in a day. For example, I have thought in the past writing a blog post might take me a few hours! But when I use a timer, set it for 60 minutes – I get the post done and often with minutes to spare. Then I move on to something else.
- Mindful Meditation – has taught me to slow down, to “Catch” my out of control thinking and shift it to what’s currently happening in the moment.
There are many things we want to happen fast, instantly, but the reality is – it won’t. Giving “Instant Gratification” a rest can lead to more content and a healthier life experience.
Oh dear, that instant gratification thing 🙁 About 5 years ago I was sure I was going to be an instant blogging success – well, the $40 course I bought promised I would be! Sadder and wiser now, still plodding on – but learned a lot.
As Donna says, having an offline business helped remind me that common sense didn’t fly out of the window because you put a website online. In fact I guess that’s harder because there’s so much more competition than in ‘the High Street’.
Yes, I’ve learned more realistic expectations!
Joy Healey – Blogging After Dark
Hello Lesly,
This post is helpful in so many areas and serves as a reminder to be realistic in setting expectations the list of time scale really makes the post relevant.
Hi Lesly,
With the world like it is today with information at our fingertips, using our phones, etc. our mindset can shift to that instant gratification mode very easily. But that’s our mind playing tricks on us lol. Things take time as you mentioned above. If we give ourselves that time, we can be successful in what we set our goals to be.
Oh that weight thing!!! I was always skinny and all of a sudden I gained weight. I go to the gym, eat properly and hardly ever cheat, but it is taking time…more time now considering my age. We have to factor all that stuff in so we won’t give up.
When it comes to business, I’m pretty fortunate that I had an offline business before the internet days. I knew the rule of thumb for an ROI was two years. It took me sooner than that, so I do still count those blessings. Now online, I keep on track and don’t give up.
-Donna
Hi Donna,
Thank you for the visit! I know you share the same thinking .. so much in common. No, never give up .. explore, discover, implement, but never give up.. much love to you 🙂
Hi Lesly,
Love the new blog look. The post is so 100% true. We know in our minds that not everything can be instant or fast like the internet but we still continue to think that way. When I’m having a rough day, my first thought when I go to do something is how long is it going to take me?
I’ve started taking your advice again and using the timer. I know it works and I don’t know why I’m so stubborn at times but I got more work done yesterday than I have in a long time (using the timer).
I have been doing better for myself too. I started back on my diet and I take more breaks than I used to and my mind doesn’t feel as cluttered as it used to be.
Thank you so much again for being persistent in your wise advice.
Love ya and have a great weekend.
Hey Monna,
I swear by the timer.. I may be nuts, but it really works and frees the mind. You sound like you’re getting things together .. happy for you …