• Delayed gratification is a process wherein you forego a short-term reward or some temptation in favor of a bigger reward that comes later. The ability to delay gratification has been closely linked with success and is an integral part of practicing self-discipline.

• If you wish to develop this skill in order to achieve your goals, there is a 10-step program you can follow over a 30-day period in order to see some results. The first three steps of this process involve deep reflection and asking yourself some hard questions about what exactly your goal is, what you want to achieve, the type of person you want to be, and how you plan on achieving your goals and becoming your ideal self in the future. This process can take up to a week since it’s imperative you take your time to come up with comprehensive answers.

• Next comes the step where you must make adjustments to your physical environment so that it is geared perfectly toward helping you achieve your goals. Pick a room in your house with a window, good lighting, and minimal exposure to outside noise. Then, set up an ergonomic workspace that is free of distractions, especially from sources like your phone.

• Once you’re done with this, you must start working on building a credit system. Each time you delay some gratification like checking your messages, award yourself credit points based on a scale that you come up with. Once you’re done with work, you can redeem these credit points for specific rewards like more free time, ordering takeout, etc.

• There are many more tricks that can help you delay gratification. Use self-directed speech, continuously motivating yourself to hold off on succumbing to temptations by verbalizing your intentions to continue working out loud. You can also use what-if scenarios and think of the outcomes your choices will have. Invariably, you’ll see that continuing to pursue your goals will lead to a better future than giving in to temptations.

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