The Problem With Living In An “Instant” World
We’re now living in an “instant” world.
There’s instant coffee for the early riser’s caffeine fix. There’s instant noodles for the person who’s too lazy to cook at home.
And if we want to talk to a friend, he’s usually just an instant messenger away.
We’ve gotten used to getting things immediately – such that if something tests our patience, we begin to think we’re probably wasting our time.
Take my friend, for example.
He wanted to lose weight. So he enrolled in a gym and started a diet plan.
But despite his best efforts, he did not see significant results in his first three months of working out and eating less. In fact, all he lost was just 5 pounds during that time.
At that point, he began to lose interest in going to the gym and began looking for other ways to lose weight. A few weeks after, he ditched his gym membership and got himself on an expensive “lifestyle diet” that promised faster weight loss.
Fortunately, the program worked for him and he was able to achieve his ideal body weight in just a few months.
However, it’s interesting to note that he’s now back to the gym, and have restarted his original diet plan because apparently, it’s the only way to maintain his ideal weight.
The weight-loss program he spent on gave him instant results, but the long-term solution to his problem is actually his original plan. If he were patient enough, he would have achieved the same results over time.
But I can’t blame him, he wanted to lose weight “instantly” and I respect his decision.
I have nothing against instant coffee and instant noodles. And I am purely neutral on those instant weight loss programs.
However, I realize that because these “instant solutions” exists, most of us have started to believe that there’s always an “instant fix” to life’s every problem.
And this unhealthy mindset is what causes us to disregard the fact that some things don’t have a quick and easy fix.
Getting out of debt, building profitable a business, retiring rich – these are just a few of the things that have no instant solutions.
And yet, many are still trying to convince themselves that an instant solution exists.
So they go out and play the lottery, marry for money and get involved in get-rich-quick schemes (which are mostly scams).
But here are some personal statistics:
People I’ve met who became rich through hard work and discipline: too many to count
People I’ve met who actually won the lottery jackpot: 1
Couples I’ve met who became rich by working together on a business: 20+
People I personally know who married for money AND are happy with their decision: 3
Entrepreneurs I’ve met who became rich by working on their own business: 50+
People I’ve met who became a millionaire through a get-rich-quick scheme: zero
With these numbers, I am led to believe that the instant solutions that many people believe in turn out to be not so instant at all because I’ve met more people who became rich faster through hard work.
And all those “instant fixes” are nothing but distractions that prevent us from doing it the right and sure way to become rich, and that is through old-fashioned work.
Do you agree? I certainly hope so.
There’s instant coffee for the early riser’s caffeine fix. There’s instant noodles for the person who’s too lazy to cook at home.
And if we want to talk to a friend, he’s usually just an instant messenger away.
We’ve gotten used to getting things immediately – such that if something tests our patience, we begin to think we’re probably wasting our time.
Take my friend, for example.
He wanted to lose weight. So he enrolled in a gym and started a diet plan.
But despite his best efforts, he did not see significant results in his first three months of working out and eating less. In fact, all he lost was just 5 pounds during that time.
At that point, he began to lose interest in going to the gym and began looking for other ways to lose weight. A few weeks after, he ditched his gym membership and got himself on an expensive “lifestyle diet” that promised faster weight loss.
Fortunately, the program worked for him and he was able to achieve his ideal body weight in just a few months.
However, it’s interesting to note that he’s now back to the gym, and have restarted his original diet plan because apparently, it’s the only way to maintain his ideal weight.
The weight-loss program he spent on gave him instant results, but the long-term solution to his problem is actually his original plan. If he were patient enough, he would have achieved the same results over time.
But I can’t blame him, he wanted to lose weight “instantly” and I respect his decision.
I have nothing against instant coffee and instant noodles. And I am purely neutral on those instant weight loss programs.
However, I realize that because these “instant solutions” exists, most of us have started to believe that there’s always an “instant fix” to life’s every problem.
And this unhealthy mindset is what causes us to disregard the fact that some things don’t have a quick and easy fix.
Getting out of debt, building profitable a business, retiring rich – these are just a few of the things that have no instant solutions.
And yet, many are still trying to convince themselves that an instant solution exists.
So they go out and play the lottery, marry for money and get involved in get-rich-quick schemes (which are mostly scams).
But here are some personal statistics:
People I’ve met who became rich through hard work and discipline: too many to count
People I’ve met who actually won the lottery jackpot: 1
Couples I’ve met who became rich by working together on a business: 20+
People I personally know who married for money AND are happy with their decision: 3
Entrepreneurs I’ve met who became rich by working on their own business: 50+
People I’ve met who became a millionaire through a get-rich-quick scheme: zero
With these numbers, I am led to believe that the instant solutions that many people believe in turn out to be not so instant at all because I’ve met more people who became rich faster through hard work.
And all those “instant fixes” are nothing but distractions that prevent us from doing it the right and sure way to become rich, and that is through old-fashioned work.
Do you agree? I certainly hope so.
