SNutizzle

As we go through every day life, we as humans make choices that are motivated by instant gratification.

I was thinking about this today and how it affects different areas of our lives.

I think it ties in greatly with patience. Those who know me know I have next to none. I am one of those people who wants "what I want WHEN I want it." That is kind of just how I'm wired. And hence why my theme song is "I Want it All" by Queen

Anyway, we don't always think of the consequences of our choices.

Today, I bought a crapload of new clothes. Without really thinking about how that affects my bank account.

I ate a bag of Cadbury mini-eggs, without thinking about the fact that it is just another item on the long list of crap I have shoved my face with the entire day. Nor did I stop to consider that I will be in a swimsuit in Vegas in 3 weeks....

Alcohol helps numb pain and, in my case, causes fun and silly behavior when in the company of friends.

I thought outside of myself too, to other vices that perhaps other people experience. Drugs. I have never done them, but I imagine the high you feel is pretty interesting. Skydiving or bungie jumping....I'll bet the adrenaline rush is pretty sick.

My point is, there are a lot of life's little pleasures that we kind of indulge in because of their ability to make us happy in the short term.

Sometimes selfish, sometimes unwise, sometimes impulsive, but we all make them.

Then in this reflection, I switched gears to another part of my life....my job. Teaching is the one area of my life where I can say with 100% honesty that there is no instant gratification involved. I'm not saying it's not gratifying to see a child smile, or the lightbulb go off in their head when they "get it," but most of the time, teaching is a long, grueling process for an end result.

I get attitude copped at me, kids who can't seem to follow directions, kids with ADD (like myself, they have a 2 second attention span), kids who have severe learning disabilities/challenges.....chairs thrown at me, names called at me. You name it and I've gone through it in the past 7 years of teaching. And this is in the nice area of Dublin....I can only imagine what the "city" has to offer their teachers...

And yet, as a teacher, you plug on. You endure nasty parents, stupid circus rings the district makes you jump through to continue to call yourself "teacher," etc. You do this because you know that, long term, your efforts and energies pay off. And it's not MYSELF that I'm hoping it pays off....I am hoping that I have a positive effect on someone's life.

Down the road, kids come back to you. They ask for help, for advice, they tell you about their successes, challenges, even failures. Because they TRUST you. They have learned (you have taught them), that they are important and matter. They want recommendation letters for college....they tell you that you made them feel worthwhile and smart. They tell you that you encouraged them and pushed them to be their best possible person, even when others seemed to take pleasure in knocking them down.

So I guess in sum, it does pay to invest your time and passions in things that don't provide instant gratification.

NOW, I need to apply this concept and some patience and faith to my game of poker, and I'll be all set!!