People love getting things fast. From shipping to food to feelings to results, quicker is preferred. We are a culture that thrives on instant gratification. Our decisions are largely based on convenience.
Perhaps unknowingly, though, we are willingly sacrificing long term quality and awareness with each impulse.
photo credit: greenoptions.com
When both are available, you probably choose the paper towels.
When just a dryer is provided, how many of us use our pants?
Using paper towels to dry your hands costs us the resource of trees. The only reason you would choose against the instant drying of paper would be if you’re environmentally conscious.
Using amazon to buy products narrows our options to those presented with the highest reviews.
Information available is limited to what google lists first.
Instant coffee saves us time and costs us ‘purity’ and taste.
photo credit: dailycoffeenews.com
Despite the boom of specialized coffee in the Western hemisphere, half of the world still prefers instant. (Just because you believe the opposite doesn’t make it false).
Eating fast food costs us nutrients and the knowledge of cooking.
Instant costs us the full experience.
Let’s talk energy drinks. The energy industry has exploded because having energy complies with our ‘yeah!’ attitudes. We can not eat and be absent of hunger pains. We can ‘crush this workout‘. We can feel happy and ready for whatever comes our way. Energy drinks sell the pleasure of invincibility. It jacks up the potential for excitement in our lives. But what we’re really doing is messing with our hormones.
We’re creating a new normal and establishing an addiction. Our bodies get worse at creating energy on it’s own. We feel bad in the absence of the drug. We associate being tired with being lazy and sluggish instead of the necessary biological process it is. And so we continue. We tell ourselves this is a ‘healthy’ energy drink or get elitist with justifying just as much caffeine intake with coffee consumption. We sell our regularity for more.
The price of instant is empowerment. We become dependent on things. We solidify ourselves as consumers. We rely on other people and other products to make us better. We lose the capacity to be patient. We forsake the consciousness of learning the process for the momentary result. A life built on reaction isn’t thought out.
Your experience is the only thing unique to you. Slow down and savor the ride. What’s waiting for you at the end you’re in such a rush to get to? If you can get to good you have to know how to stay there. Reliable tools should be reusable. Trust you’ve already acquired all the ones you need, and you’ve taken the time to learn how to use them.
Comments