Humans always have various tricks to convince themselves that resisting temptation is tomorrow. Therefore, with the huge prefrontal cortex, we will succumb to the immediate satisfaction again and again.
In order to get instant pleasure quickly, I forget what I really want. Economists call it "delayed discount". In other words, the longer you wait for the reward, the lower the value of the reward to you. A small delay will greatly reduce your perceived value.
Because of the "delayed discount" of happiness and satisfaction, people no longer strive to achieve future goals and plans, but succumb to short-term happiness again and again.
"Delayed discount" explains why we would rather give up our future happiness than choose our present happiness. This is the reason why we delay paying taxes, just to enjoy the comfort of today. This is why we don't consider the future energy crisis when using today's fossil fuels. That's why our credit cards are heavily in debt, but we don't consider the high interest rate. If we want it now, we will ask for it at once. If you don't want to face it today, put it off until tomorrow.
One of the reasons why we choose immediate gratification so easily is that the reward system in our brains has not evolved to respond to future rewards. Food is the initial goal of the reward system, which is why human beings still become particularly sensitive when they smell or see delicious food. When dopamine first acts in the human brain, rewards that are far away from you, whether 60 miles away from you or 60 days later, have nothing to do with life now. We need a system that allows us to get a return immediately when we can get a return. At the very least, we need to be motivated to pursue a reward that is closer to the present, such as a fruit that you need to climb a tree or cross a river to satisfy our desires.
As modern people, when we weigh the "immediate return" and "future return", the way the brain handles options is completely different. "Instant reward" will activate the older and more primitive reward system and stimulate the corresponding dopamine production desire. Future Rewards is unlikely to activate this reward system. The human recently evolved prefrontal cortex can better understand their value. In order to delay satisfaction, the prefrontal cortex needs to calm down the promise of reward. This is not impossible-after all, this is the role of the prefrontal cortex. But it's not easy. However, the good news is that temptation is not always an opportunity. To defeat our prefrontal cortex, we must get a reward immediately, and you'd better see this reward.
Once you have a distance from temptation, the automatic control system of the brain will regain control of the situation. Not seeing the direct reward will make the reward abstract and reduce the stimulating effect on the reward system. This allows students to make rational choices through inner calculations rather than original feelings.
This is good news for those who want to delay the pleasure. As long as it can create a little distance, it will be easier to refuse. For example, a study found that putting candy cans in a desk drawer instead of directly on the desk would make office workers eat less 1/3 of sugar. Although it doesn't cost much to open a drawer than to take candy directly from the table, putting candy away can really reduce their stimulation of desire. When you know what arouses desire, put it out of sight, it will no longer attract you.
10 minutes doesn't seem too long for what you want. But neuroscientists have found that 10 minutes can greatly change the way the brain processes rewards. If you have to wait 10 minutes to get instant satisfaction, then your brain will see it as a reward in the future. If there is no strong physiological impulse to choose "instant satisfaction", the reward commitment system will not be so active. However, when the brain weighs the biscuits waiting for 10 minutes with longer-term rewards (such as losing weight), it will not show obvious preference and will not choose the rewards that can be obtained faster. It is the word "instant" in "instant satisfaction" that hijacks your brain and reverses your preference.
To get a calm and wise mind, you need to arrange a waiting time of 10 minutes in front of all temptations. If you want it after 10 minutes, you can have it. But in 10 minutes, you must always think about long-term returns to resist the temptation. If you can, you can also create some physical (or visual) distances.
If your willpower challenge requires the power of "I want to do it", you can still use this "10 minute rule" to overcome temptation and procrastination. You can change the rule to "keep doing 10 minutes, and then you can give up". When 10 minutes ends, you can allow yourself to stop. But you will find that once you start, you will want to continue to do it.
When you feel that you can't "it won't happen again", you might as well use the "10 minute delay rule" to enhance your self-control.
What is your discount rate?
It is human nature to discount "future earnings", but everyone's discount is different. Some people have low discounts, and these people have greater rewards and will wait. Others get a high discount. They can't resist the promise of "instant satisfaction". How much you discount largely determines your long-term health and your success.
How much is happiness today more important to you than happiness tomorrow? People who greatly discount their future returns are more likely to have self-control problems in many aspects. They are more likely to smoke and drink, and the risk of choosing drugs, gambling or other hobbies is higher. They are less likely to save money for their old age, and more likely to drink and drive or have unprotected sex. They are also more likely to put off doing something. They rarely even wear watches-it seems that they only pay attention to the present, and time itself is not that important. If the present is more important than the future, then there is no reason to delay satisfaction. To get rid of this mentality, we must find ways to make the future more important.
Fortunately, a person's discount rate is not a constant physical law. By changing our view of choice, we can lower the discount rate.
No matter what kind of temptation you face, you can use the following methods to resist immediate satisfaction and reduce the discount rate in the future.
1. When you are tempted to do something against your long-term interests, please imagine that this choice means that you have given up better long-term returns for immediate satisfaction.
2. Imagine that you have been rewarded for a long time. Imagine that you are enjoying the fruits of self-control in the future.
3. Then ask yourself: Are you willing to give it up in exchange for the short-term pleasure that tempts you?