Do you have PIG?
Don’t feed the PIG
No, we’re not talking of pets or non-vegetarian diets here. We’re talking about your uncontrollable, irresistible impulses, which are so vehemently out of your power that it becomes terribly agonizing for you to delay giving into them. The PIG represents your inability to curb that restlessness that arises when something refuses to go your way. It signifies your explosive reaction to rejection or refutation, and your helplessness before your own self. In many ways the PIG is really what differentiates human kind from the animal kind. Yes, the PIG is the PROBLEM of IMMEDIATE GRATIFICATION…
I want what I want and I want it NOW!
It’s not criminal to want what you want. We all have wants and desires and expectations and dreams. They are totally permissible and authorized. What is unsanctioned is your condition that you should get what you want right when you want it. You choose to not exercise that self-control which will in the longer run work better for you as well as those around you. You most likely know that being impulsive does not get you to a favourable consequence but you tend to deny yourself that chance. And you lash out…
… at your friend for not showing up at your party even though you knew he was not well.
… at your mom for cooking something you don’t like even though she spent all evening on it.
… at the man who you thought was jaywalking as if he owns the road, not realizing that he is blind.
So what is the PIG really?
The problem of immediate gratification is a universal principle referring to the immediate reward of an action seeming more attractive than the harm that it may cause at a later date. When you act impulsively, you fail to see the long-term significances of your deeds. You lose that self-control and cannot delay your impulse to lash out with words or your action. Your anger and irritation gets vented and you do feel better for a few moments.
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Dr Shefali Batra is a Psychiatrist and Mindfulness Coach. Connect with her on Instagram @drshefalibatra and read more about her work at drshefalibatra.com.