Delayed Gratification

The older I get the more often I see that what passes for life's success and failures or deficiencies is ultimately based on choices, but many times the choice is between doing something now or some better time in the future. There are lots of examples. Sex at the wrong time and with the wrong person, for example. Getting an education through applied studying and due diligence can obviously affect how successful one is. Having fun in college is great unless it prevents you from accomplishing what you should be there for. You can have a lot of fun later if you have a good job and money coming in every month. Family timing is important. Have a family too soon and there can be a profound and lingering effect on subsequent financial health. Retirement is just a whole lot more fun and a lot less stressful if you have delayed some gratification by saving enough money to spend later in life. These are the big examples, but there are a lot of smaller ones as well. Some big time athletes get huge contracts and lots of money to go with minimal common sense and risk it all by deciding for example that despite contracts to the contrary they have to buy a motorcycle. Ben Rothlisberger, for example. Several professional golfers have lost irreplaceable productive months and years from injuries while skiing and snow-boarding. Ernie Els and Chris DiMarco come to mind here.

I guess the other side of the argument is one should have it all now because tomorrow may not come. If wrong, however, you wind up repenting in leisure.