Sesame Street continues to have amazing points about how to live your life. Tom Hiddleston and Cookie Monster were on to something when it comes to delayed gratification.
As it happens so often with me, it started out with food. Because my work day starts very early, and I don’t like being up very early, I eat my breakfast at work. Because I work with my hands, I cut my breakfast up in bite-sized pieces, to prevent crumbs, sticky fingers, and so on.
The first weeks I’d throw everything in whenever my stomach growled and – get really hungry an hour or two later, because bodies are weird and in constant need of attention.
After that, I tried to keep things (my stomach) a bit more in control. First I took a bite after every two minutes, but timing myself makes me incredibly nervous. So I switched to songs and boom, suddenly I could last into (after)noon. I guess if you can make your breakfast last for 50 minutes instead of five, things (stomachs) change.
Anyway, life isn’t entirely about food. Inspired by Unfuck Your Habitat, I made a version of their 20/10 to keep myself from sitting down and racing through my Parasol Protectorate books (amazing fun!) until several things on the To Do list were done. Even scratching open my lottery ticket (this would be delayed disappointment) got more exciting when I told myself to take some time.
Because that’s just what it is, of course. In the end it’s taking a bit more time, assuring yourself that you don’t need XYZ right now. A little piece of mind in your daily life, that’s probably why I like this way of thinking most.
