THE DELAYED GRATIFICATION






Pic.: Anand Ashokan


I met a young-man, this morning. His 2-year-old was sweetly dressed-up for his playschool, with a cute piggy-back. The young-man worked for a private bank while his wife worked for an ad agency. The little-one went to a well-known nursery, which charged an annual fee between one lakh and two lakh!

“This one is our first child; he has to study till he turns twenty or twenty-two,” the young-man said to me, “Just imagine the kind of money we will have to spend on his education!”

Yes, it was on one child, he was talking about! He wasn’t talking about the clothes, the toys, gadgets, cars, house, fun and entertainment, holidays, functions and celebrations, health care and hospitalization, care of the parents, weddings of sisters, education of siblings and so on....

“How will we be able to cope with this insane cost of living?” the young-man wondered.

Yes, how could he... How could we?

No matter how much we all earn, unless we know how to use money judiciously, our money has no value at all... This, most of us know... Therefore, more earning can never be the answer... Both parents working can not be the answer, either... When more money comes, come more wants and desires, too... Rather, more temptations... There are our credit cards – the plastic money... There are personal loans easily available... There are zero-percent-interest credit-sale offers...  The cell-phones become scrap with in a year... so do our clothes, Tablets, laptops, computers, cars, home furniture, and home itself! A visit to a multiplex leaves a big hole in our pocket... So does a visit to our doctor or tutor. Leave alone psychologist, advocate and, even, priest!

So, what is the answer to our young-man’s question, which, in deed, is our own question: “How will we be able to cope with this insane cost of living?”

Earn more, and spend less, spend judiciously... Find ways to make additional income... Learn how to invest wisely...

Yes, all these might sound logical ways...

But, if we can learn one lesson early in life - which our ‘two-lakh-fees playschools’ wouldn’t teach us - I think, there is a greater chance, that, when we  grow up, we will be effectively able to cope with the insane cost of living...

The lesson is called – ‘The Delayed Gratification’.

Many things, which we impulsively buy, can wait... The latest i-Phone, for example. What’s wrong with the phone in hand? The big birthday bash, which we are busy planning, is another example... Just to please a handful? The latest outfit or the movie is yet another example... What difference does it make if you continue wearing the clothes hanging in our wardrobes? Why the new movie even when we know it is just crap? The urge to dine in a luxury, go on a cruise even though loans pile up in front of our eyes... The temptation to go for that latest car in the town, and that swanky apartment... Join a gym only to waste the membership, and ditto for the membership of the ‘prestigious’ club or gymkhana... What about the Italian, Mexican, Thai, and Yankee stuff on our plates, when we know we can do without them... The finest whiskey or the most expensive puff can not change the reality: It can ruin our health!

So, if we can put ‘first things first’ in our lives – do, now, what is important but not urgent... yes, put our money, energy and focus on what is important but not urgent... I think, that would be a huge step towards coping with that insane cost of living...

Let’s, therefore, delay our gratifications... Let’s tell our minds and hearts, “Wait... Don’t be impulsive... It is neither important nor urgent... It can wait.” Yes, if we can teach our little-ones this lesson outside the school, I believe, no matter how insane this world will be, we will have a sane response to deal with it...

The only way to deal with insanity is by being sane!


GERALD D’CUNHA

Comments

Manoj Khitani said…
Very useful post. Thank-you. Manoj Khitani
September 17, 2014 at 8:13 PM
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