BY: Jamal Rasheed
Imagine being the last person at your position on the depth chart of your football team. You are constantly over looked and people look at you as the weak link on the squad. However, with all of this in mind you decide to use it as motivation to work harder. Deep down you know that you are way more talented than what people around you are saying and you are determined to prove them wrong. Now, when you are not at practice you are in the weight room, if not the weight room you are watching film, if not film you are running and improving your wind. Some time goes by and you are starting to see all the improvements in your game. On the upcoming game day, the coaches have decided to switch things up to throw the opponent's game plan off, so you are in the starting lineup. This is the moment you have been grinding for and you know you are ready. The game starts and you go BEAST MODE! All of a sudden you have a starting spot and are considered a star. Every body wants your autograph, jersey, equipment and time. Nevertheless, the wonderful sensation of working toward your goal and knowing how far you came is an unparralled feeling. This feeling is known as gratification. Gratification is the pleasurable emotional reaction of happiness in response to a fulfillment of a desire or goal.
The most common forms of gratification are instant and delayed. Depending on which one of these lifestyles a person chooses to live they can live responsibly or deal with serious ramifications and struggles. Typically people have a "want it now" mindset that leads to trouble. So if after you become a star on the football team and you carry a "want it now" mindset you will find financial trouble in the near future. If you are not well educated it will be easy to get taken advantage of and fall in the trap of thinking your income will always be made of millions. Since you have worked hard and are on top in the game you are an easy target. People are going to want you to invest in their projects. People you grew up with will ask for loans that will never be returned. Some of your family is going to try and milk you for your money. In addition to that, many of the materialistic things you always wanted are obtainable so it could get addicting buying nice possessions. Instant gratification is a trap for the ignorant. Even people who make a large amount of money can set themselves up for bankruptcy if they are reckless with their funds. In fact, by the time they have been retired for 2 years, 78% of former NFL players have gone bankrupt or are under financial stress. Within five years of retirement, an estimated 60% of former NBA players "broke. This is a result of living beyond one's means and not being financially educated well enough. We cannot allow you be on the wrong side of those statistics. The easiest way to avoid this is to have a delayed gratification lifestyle.
Just because you are making big money in the league does not mean the money will always be there. You are one injury away from it all going away. There is much greater chance of gaining and maintaining wealth when you are patient. This is why delayed gratification leads to wealth, it's about saving money and being frugal. Being frugal allows a person to buy what they need without splurging all their money. If you are frugal, making all those big bucks playing football will allow you to like comfortably for a long time. Furthermore, it is not about being cheap, it is about being smart and cautious with your money. You do not have to eat at Benihana's every night just because you can afford it now. Last time I checked home cooked meals were still pretty good. It might not be flashy and that exciting but it will allow you to last financially. Unfortunately, in the society we live in most young people do not practice this behavior. There is so much emphasis on fame and glamour that it is very easy to fall into a trap of a "you only live once lifestyle" or "money, you can't take it with you." Education is the only way increase the number of people who practice delayed gratification. Go ahead and take care of your needs first, then make sure you have your savings set up. You can have some fun but make limits and know those limits. Remember, now that you are in the big league you can live like a king for a year or live like a prince forever.
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I agree with Jamal, everyone should practice delayed gratification because the outcome is often way better than using instant gratification. I like his post and the YouTube links he used are great examples of the post.
ReplyDeleteI agree as well, practicing delayed gratification has a much better outcome than instant gratification. It's not easy practicing delayed gratification because it requires patience, hard work and maybe even a little struggling, but in the end there is definitely a better pay-off than those who practice instant gratification. Practicing delayed gratification can lead to a better future.
ReplyDeleteYou always hear about star athletes and other people in the entertainment world making all these millions of dollars to later retire and not have much of anything left. Seeing this video of Antonie Walker comfortably speaking on his file of bankruptcy made me realize a couple of different things.
ReplyDeletefor one it made me realize how easy it is to go broke after making so much money. Living this extravagant lifestyle, buying all the fancy clothes and cars is what sucks a lot of people in to spending all their money. also taking care of your friends and family can also be costly, you want to take care of everybody and make everyone happy but in all actuality your just making the people around you more and more comfortable coming back to you asking you for more money.
once i finally make it im not giving too many handouts, maybe a couple to begin with but I'm not just giving out money to whoever needs it. I have no problem investing in something you want to push or fund something thats going to contribute to your success but nothings free in life. come up with a business plan on how your going to take the money i give you and then ill consider loaning you the money you need to get started
Antoine did make some smart decisions by investing but he definitely shoulda put his money somewhere else and not just real estate.
I do agree with idea that instant gratification does cause economic downturn as oppose to delayed gratification. Watching the video and hearing Antoine Walker on the first take provides evidence that instant gratification is not a good thing to practice and can lead to hardships in the long run.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Jamal, in that everyone should practice delayed gratification rather than instant gratification because it ensures long time stability. Planning for the future is the key to having a strong economic foundation. I like Mr. Rasheed's valid points on this issue and the youtube videos were great additions as well.
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