Our business is getting a new heat press with accessories in a couple of weeks. We had to make room. To make way, my lovely wife executed a pretty major cleaning spree last weekend. All told, she rid us of eight trash bags and a box of stuff.
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We’re trading space taken by items for consumption for space to be used by items for production.
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We’re trading money spent on consumption for money to be spent on items for production.
With limited funds, I’m seeing many opportunities to reduce consumption, in order to increase spending on money-producing endeavors.
Some call this delayed gratification, which it is at a very least. I see it as much more.
As an entrepreneur, I enjoy the challenge of running a business. I get to fund that challenge while I’m deferring consumption. I get to enjoy that journey now with its ups and downs. (There are many downs to consumption that we often ignore.)
In reality deferred gratification is really trading present gratification in one area for present gratification in another.
Exchanged Gratification
You defer one thing so you can experience another now. You trade consumption now (defer to later) for production now (instead of later).
If you’re dieting, you trade eating food now for losing weight now. Otherwise, you’re eating food now and (maybe someday) losing weight later.
Just like science teaches that there’s conservation of matter, so here too is conservation of gratification.
