By Anaiya Patel

Slow and steady wins the race is a saying that I’m most of us have heard by now. It originates from the classic fable, “The Tortoise And The Hare.” In the story a hare makes fun of a tortoise for being slow. The tortoise then challenges the hare to a race. The hare was so confident that he would beat the tortoise that he ran ahead and took a nap; he thought that he would win no matter what. The tortoise continued on, slowly and steadily. In the end, he passed the hare and approached the finish line. The hare woke up in shock and ran as fast as he could, but he was unable to reach the finish line in time. This saying may sound silly at first because in order to win a race you must be fast but I believe this lesson runs deeper than many of us even realize. We live in a world where life is kind of like one big long race. Many of us are constantly on the go but the problem lies in being too caught up in the destination that we often forget to live the journey. 

It not only applies to major life decisions or career goals but also to something as simple as homework. Let’s say it’s 11:45 p.m. and you have an assignment due at 11:59 p.m. Rather than spending the days prior working on it and truly understanding the material, you rush to finish it in the final minutes before the deadline. At that point, the goal is no longer to learn or improve your skills. Instead, the focus becomes getting the assignment done as quickly as possible and earning the grade. This mindset reflects the growing influence of instant gratification, where immediate results are valued more than the long-term benefits of patience, effort, and genuine learning. Layla Jabri (11th) states, “To me, instant gratification means when I prioritize immediate pleasure over what’s good for me long term.” According to positivepsychology.com, instant gratification refers to the temptation, and resulting tendency, to forego a future benefit in order to obtain a less rewarding but more immediate benefit. When you have a desire for something pleasurable—be it food, entertainment, or getting through your to – do list quickly —you rarely think thoughts like, “My stomach is rumbling and I would love to have that delicious dish, but I’d rather wait another hour.”. Instant gratification has almost become sort of like a life line in a way. It is more than a habit, it’s a life-style. Reese Wagner (11th) states, “To me it means to do anything in an split second decision that gives you a dopamine rush, it could be dangerous or bad, but as long as you feel rewarded doing it, it doesn’t matter.” This dangerous way of thinking has taken over the way our society runs as a whole.

Teenagers face these challenges every day because they have grown up in a world where almost everything is available instantly. Whether it’s getting answers from the internet, watching endless videos on social media, or receiving immediate feedback through likes and notifications, many teens have become accustomed to quick rewards. Layla says, “I think a lot of the time teenagers have trouble thinking ahead if they are given the opportunity to feel something good temporarily. For example, one time, I was doing my schoolwork so I could go out with my friends that weekend, cause my mom wouldn’t let me go out if I had missing work. All of a sudden, my friend calls me and I get distracted and didn’t get to go out that weekend.” Over time, this can make it more difficult to develop patience and self-discipline. When success or progress requires consistent effort over a long period of time, some students may become frustrated and lose motivation because they are used to seeing results right away. Reese adds, “I especially think because we are so young we don’t usually think about the consequences or effects of our actions. We only focus on the rush of emotions we gain from it.” As both consumers and creators of media, teenagers are constantly surrounded by content designed to provide instant rewards. Layla adds, “With social media, it’s very easy to get pulled into an algorithm and waste a lot of time mindlessly scrolling.” Social media often serves as the gateway to instant gratification, leading users down a rabbit hole of endless videos, posts, and notifications that make immediate satisfaction feel normal.

This dependence on instant gratification can hurt people in a variety of ways. It can lead to poor time management, procrastination, and difficulty focusing on long-term goals. Reese says, “I think instant gratification affects students and their work by making poor decisions. For example, one might choose to play a video game than to complete a project. I think we all struggle with this, and I think the reward of winning the video game feels nice at first, but it is much wiser to complete the project long term.” Rather than investing time and effort into a task, individuals may look for the quickest and easiest path to completion. As a result, important qualities such as perseverance, resilience, and delayed gratification may not be fully developed.

Students learn to prioritize pleasure and comfort over everything. This raises the concern of people not learning to be okay with not being okay or uncomfortable. So when people are inevitably met with a problem that isn’t one fix all, it can cause a person to want to give up and not take things slow and steady. Reese says, “I think about immediate rewards at first, and then I have to change my thinking. A lot of my short term goals don’t benefit my future and I think it is really important to start a considering it more precisely, especially because I am in my later years of high school.” Instant gratification can be addicting causing you to spiral further and further away from even the slightest discomfort. If we never learn to live with discomfort, we’ll keep chasing what’s easy and comfortable in the moment instead of doing the things that help us grow in the long run.

This mindset often translates over into academics. Instead of viewing school as an opportunity to gain knowledge and develop critical thinking skills, many students begin to focus primarily on grades and deadlines. Social media doesn’t make it any easier either. Reese says, “I think the constant feedback of comments encourage instant gratification. For example, on a post someone might comment a positive message; that usually makes someone feel great in an instant, leading them to continue chasing the high.” Assignments are completed at the last minute, studying is delayed until the night before a test, and learning becomes secondary to simply earning a good grade. This is also usually at the expense of the student’s sleep schedule, eating habits, and even their mental health can be negatively impacted. In order to combat this, students can remind themselves to learn to take things slow and live in the moment through different methods such as setting alarms or asking a family member to help out. Layla says, “I like to keep posters in my room of really great times I had with my friends. This reminds me that even though texting or calling them might be fun at the moment, it’s even better to see them and be completely guilt free.” This is exactly where the saying comes in, I know at first it can be difficult to take things steady but slowly but surely it will pay off in the end and leave you feeling even more rewarded than any quick bursts or spurts of instant gratification could yield. Reese adds, “What helps me stay focused on the long term goals is writing reminders on sticky notes and putting them on the mirror. I know it sounds cliche, but seeing what my future can look like every time I wake up helps me stay motivated.” While instant gratification may feel rewarding in the moment, it’s important to remember that not everything worthwhile comes instantly. Learning to be patient and push through discomfort can help us grow into better, more successful versions of ourselves.

While this approach may provide short-term rewards, it often prevents students from fully understanding the material and developing the skills necessary for long-term success. As instant gratification continues to shape students’ habits and behaviors, the true purpose of education, learning and personal growth, can easily be overshadowed by the desire for immediate results.