NOW AND LATER

Children, teens and many adults often have great difficulty controlling impulses, and deferring immediate pleasure for future satisfaction. The long-term consequences of hasty choices, or choices made strictly with immediate consequences in mind are sometimes painful to watch. 

It is generally much more difficult to teach a person to have better impulse control and ability to balance short-term and long-term gratification than it is to chide them for their mistakes.

One way to help learn these important skills is to examine the sweet lesson found in a Now and Later candy.

Now and Later candy was by far a favorite choice for troubled kids we worked with at a residential treatment facility.  As its name implies, Now and Later candy provides both immediate and long-term eating satisfaction.  Now and Later is good enough to savor immediately, and special enough to keep for future savoring.  The kids loved it; they preserved their future portions and calculated when they would need to replenish.  How ironic!  Here were some of the most impulsive and pleasure-seeking kids acting in a reflective and future-oriented manner. 

Time after time, the kids would tell us that now and later was the best because it lasted a long time and gave them something to look forward to.  We recognized the time they took to consider and plan for their future well-being, and we emphatically praised their decision to put aside some candy in order to achieve the future consequence they desired.

We also questioned whether they had similar future desires for school, relations etc., and whether they could plan for those events as well.

Now and Later candy represents our journey in the world.  Each and every decision that is made, each action and interaction that is taken has consequences now and later.  Acting as though there are no future consequences is similar to acting as though there is no gravity or other laws of physics; behavior that ignores the importance of what’s likely to come - invites trouble.

Decisions are best made by balancing current and future desires, and anticipating immediate and future outcomes.  Next time that you find yourself getting into trouble or dissatisfied with the outcome of your behavior, check and see whether you generally focus on Now – Later – or Now and Later.