Episode #1 Delay Immediate Gratification

In the very first episode of Three Words, Dr. Michael Brown is joined by Beau Johnson as they kick off the podcast with three of Michael’s all-time favorite words.

Show Notes

Here’s the cool thing: you don’t have to wait. You can do it today. You can delay immediate gratification today.
Dr. Beau Johnson

Three Problems

  • As human beings, we typically do whatever we feel like doing in the moment.
  • Spontaneous choices based on immediate desires rarely help us to become the best version of ourselves.
  • We will not wake up one day having become someone we have not been becoming.

Three Principles

  • Delaying immediate gratification may be the single most important choice we can make, leading to success in every dimension of life.
  • When we delay immediate gratification for a short period of time, sometimes the desire to make an unhealthy or unhelpful choice disappears.
  • Delaying immediate gratification in the small areas builds the muscle that allows us to delay immediate gratification in the big areas.

Three Practices

  • Honestly evaluate, “When was the last time I delayed immediate gratification?”
  • Repeat the phrase “DIG it” when faced with desires that oppose your long term goals.
  • Practice saying ‘no’ to a desire for just 10 minutes, and pass the time by making a positive choice instead.