Delayed Gratification

I have been working with my sons Luke (9 years) and Logan (7 years) on the concept of delayed gratification.

It's an interesting subject. Wikipedia defines delayed gratification as, "the ability to wait in order to obtain something that one wants".

Researchers from Yale University have determined that there is a connection between delayed gratification and intelligence, concluding it has to do with a particular part of the brain, the anterior prefrontal cortex.

It is also related to age and maturity. Young children, for example, find it more difficult to delay gratification than older children. When kindergartners in one study were offered a choice between getting a small candy bar immediately or a larger one later, 72% chose the smaller candy bar.

The boys and I were picking wild blackberries (the fruit, not the phone) yesterday in our yard. Logan decided, on his own, to wait on picking some of the darker red ones until they are purple or black and tastier. A huge step for him, as he was competing with his older brother for who could pick the most.

I was very proud of him.

We could all learn from his example. Sacrificing the immediate on the altar of the preferred takes patience, smarts, and a certain amount of maturity.

Whether it's a relationship, a car, a house, blackberries, or a Blackberry (the phone), sometimes delaying the pursuit is the better option.

So if you want to be smart or mature (or at least look that way!), meditate on these:

^{Psalm 37
7} Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him;
Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way,
Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass.
⁸ Cease from anger, and forsake wrath;
Do not fret—it only causes harm.
⁹ For evildoers shall be cut off;
But those who wait on the LORD,
They shall inherit the earth.

^{Ecclesiastes 7
8} The end of a thing is better than its beginning;
The patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.

^{Lamentations 3
26} It is good that one should hope and wait quietly
For the salvation of the LORD.