Deferred Gratification

Earlier in my career, I once attended a ‘Philosophy of Education’ module (keep reading..it's going to be OK) when I was undergoing my teacher training. It was of little direct help at the ‘sharp end’ of class-room teaching (protecting my car tyres from sharp knives) and it didn’t count towards final course accreditation (known as a written exam) but it was interesting. And there were only two of us in the class! So we had some great conversations. If you’ve delved into this area, you’ll know it’s pretty well mandatory to try and resolve what we mean by ‘an educated person’. After much mental wrestling we agreed he or she is able to invest for the long term, in particular he or she is able to ‘defer gratification’.
Of course that is exactly what we are requiring of most students: study hard, run up debt, go to boring lectures and in the long-term it will all be worthwhile: you’ll become a well paid executive with smart car …etc. etc.
And it does sort of work. And it’s probably very good for our self-discipline. And maybe even for our personal moral code, but boy is that a bigger topic. I think I would broadly agreed that an educated person is one who can - when necessary - defer gratification. Put off an immediate pleasure for the longer-term benefit. Of one, or many.
Recently though I’ve noticed an interesting ‘micro’ aspect of this point. It’s the e-mail phenomenon and the desire to respond immediately. The ‘Blackberry Twitch’ as I like to call it. It’s the worst of reptilian responses, the least likely behaviour of a well-focused person. Why? Because it breaks attention, it breaks reflective thinking. It breaks what is the most potentially powerful aspect of the human brain: directed attention to what is essential. The gratification is of course the temporary relief of having ‘checked another e-mail’. Of course if that’s all we are paid to do, then that’s fine. But few of us are. Here’s a challenge: try delaying e-mail gratification this week. Experiment with longer periods of non-checking. Notice how you feel ‘edgey’ initially but calmer and more focused as you re-learn how to put off the immediate ‘fix’.
Have fun!