In this episode of the Elevation Recovery Podcast in the video above, Matt Finch discusses the concept of Hyperbolic Discounting, the act of discounting future delayed gratifications in favor of short-term gratification.
We all have the tendency to default to this train of thinking. Because of this, Matt provides tips and strategies to delay gratification in order to have a healthier recovery and lifestyle in the long run.
Hyperbolic Discounting
Get ready to learn why addiction is so hard for most to recover from… Hyperbolic Discounting! An invisible force that blocks advancement from addiction to recovery.
We all have to some degree a default brain wiring of Hyperbolic Discounting, which leads to a strong innate preference for instant gratification.
Instant Gratification
Instant (or immediate) gratification is a term that refers to the temptation, and resulting tendency, to forego a future benefit to obtain a less rewarding but more immediate benefit.
Evolutionary Advantage
Hunters and gatherers were focused on daily survival.
There was no option to eat the pig today or put it in a Pig 401K and in 40 years receive 100 pigs.
Dopamine Nation
Modern society provides easy, inexpensive, and fast access to instant gratification in many forms, such as the internet, TV, junk food, sweets, alcohol, drugs, pornography, social media, and much more.
FOMO
Habitual checking of phone or other devices for news updates, new videos, new social media posts, etc. due to a strongly programmed Fear of Missing Out (FOMO).
Psychologist Shahram Heshmat’s 10 Reasons Why Instant Gratification Is Hard to Sidestep:
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A desire to avoid delay
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Uncertainty
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Age
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Imagination
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Cognitive capacity
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Poverty
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Impulsiveness
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Emotion regulation
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Mood
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Anticipation
3 Examples of Instant Gratification:
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Urge to indulge in a brownie and milk instead of a healthy snack
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Desire to hit snooze on the alarm clock instead of getting up early
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The temptation to drink wine at home in the evening rather than go for a nature walk with a friend
3 Ways to Get Better at Resisting:
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Empathize with your future self
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Precommitment
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Break big goals down into small chunks
Don’t Feel Bad if You Give in a Lot!
Technology and social media have made it much more difficult to delay gratification than ever before!
The antidote… Delayed Gratification.
The ability to have whatever we want in an instant WEAKENS our self-regulation muscles.
Goal achievement requires self-awareness and the ability to delay gratification in favor of more desirable rewards at a later time.
While self-regulation may not be at the top of most of our lists of strengths, it is within all of us. It can grow, like all other strengths.
5 Delayed Gratification Worksheets:
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Avoidance Plan Worksheet
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Reward Replacement Worksheet
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Self-Directed Speech Worksheet
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If-Then Worksheet
If you have any comments or questions, please post them below. And take good care of yourself.
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