It's me again, your favorite millennial-next-door, here to talk about something I've spent a significant chunk of my life dodging like a phony taxi meter – delayed gratification. Yep, that old-school mantra we millennial folk tend to shrug off like last season’s fanny packs. I mean, who has the time to wait for happiness when it's just a GrabFood delivery away, right?
But hear me out. I had a revelation recently – right in the middle of a Netflix binge, no less. As I hovered over the ‘Skip Intro’ button, I paused. What if I let the opening credits play out? What if I sat back, took a breather, and appreciated the intricate design work someone spent hours perfecting? Would the payoff of finally seeing the show’s title flash across my screen not be greater?
So, I refrained from pressing the button, and a weird thing happened. I found myself tapping my foot to the intro music, swaying a little, and - gasp - actually enjoying myself! It struck me then: had I been denying myself a whole world of joy in my rush for instant gratification?
Let’s be real. We're the 'Double Tap' generation. We want our food fast, Wi-Fi faster, and our romantic interests to text back fastest. Our idea of patience is waiting for the laptop to boot while we hurriedly make a cup of instant coffee. And don’t even get me started on lagging video games. I mean, if I wanted to test my patience, I'd try to decipher my tito's cryptic text messages, thank you very much.
But as it turns out, waiting can be surprisingly gratifying. It's like watching your favorite band live in concert versus listening to them on Spotify. Sure, you had to wait in line, deal with the crowd, and probably lose a shoe, but the experience? Pure bliss!
Don't get me wrong. I'm not suggesting we swap our smartphones for carrier pigeons or start writing snail mail. I’m just advocating for a bit of balance. Perhaps we don't always need to take the fastest route, eat the instant ramen, or skip the game tutorial.
As the saying goes, good things come to those who wait. And while I’m still mastering the art of waiting (and occasionally failing – I’m looking at you, "Skip Ad" button on YouTube), I’m slowly learning that the reward can be worth the wait.
So, next time you’re tempted to fast-forward, pause for a moment. Let the intro play, savor the anticipation, let the ad roll. Who knows, delayed gratification might just turn out to be the plot twist we millennials didn’t know we needed. So here's to the wait, mga kaibigan!
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