Phun-size Philosophy # 22 - Instant Gratification

Instant gratification is basically defined as being able to get what you want right then and there when you want it without much work to get it. It has been popularized and made wide spread as technology advances especially with the internet. Google recently released a feature called instant search where as you type it shows the Google search results instantly! It is pretty crazy and I feel like that it definitely fulfills the instant gratification one would want in order to maximize their capabilities while exerting the least amount of force possible. You don't need to wait for a letter to come in the mail to communicate with your friends and family. There are also a myriad of other ways in which things ranging from communication, to entertainment, to almost all other facets of life. Technology allows us to receive instant satisfaction with almost everything we use it for except when it decides to break. : P When you start getting whatever you want instantly, you start taking things for granted and you will lose an appreciation of what it has taken you to get where you are today. Everything you do seems less important because it seems as if you can easily do something else just as easily if things don't go right with what you are currently working on. If you don't have to work hard to achieve almost anything, why would you take the time and effort to work on something that may not go your right way. Your patience also goes down because the longer it takes to accomplish something the more your interest or motivation decreases. It is very nice to receive instant gratification every once in a while, especially when you are having an off day. It allows you to achieve and gain some feeling of success because things come so easily. The only down side is that these accomplishments eventually lose their meaning that can potentially make your life mean less and less as well. Life will seem less exciting in my opinion because your actions lose their value. Hard work and obstacles provide a sense of victory and triumph knowing that it took time and effort. That sense is necessary to a successful life because you made something of it.

-Allan Nicholas