If someone asked what I would look for in young people to determine their later success, I would say one thing. I would specifically look for theability to delay gratification. It’s very simple. Delaying gratification is the secret to success far and wide. No one wants to do it. That’s why very successful people also tend to be few.

You need to be able to delay gratification in some form to be successful in absolutely anything. For school, delaying gratification looks like dragging yourself out of bed so you get to class on time. It also looks like delaying sleep because you know that you haven’t studied enough to do well on the test. The list goes on and on.

Delaying gratification at work looks like continually showing up to work on time and not trading shifts or calling out because you don’t want to go. It looks like pushing through those final reps at the gym instead of giving up. For me it looked like sticking it out as a bagger so I could move up in time where I worked. I put off quitting in hopes of moving up and was therefore delaying immediate gratification.

Delaying gratification is so important because it shows that you have the ability to think about the future while making decisions in the present. It is what gives you the power to build a better future for yourself even if it means suffering in the moment. Without it, one would be stuck eternally in the spot they are already in or doomed to fall further. Children that show the ability to postpone immediate happiness at a young age are probably going to be those that find success long term, because they will be the ones willing to sacrifice for the outcome they desire.

So what if you find yourself struggling to postpone gratification? If you tend to be more impulsive and action oriented it will require more effort to do achieve this. The main component of delaying gratification is focusing on outcomes and goals. If you do not have set goals to work towards then this does not work. How can you be preparing for a better future if you do not know what kind of future you want?

Along with focusing on your desired outcome, you also have to make it a point to be purposeful in your decision making. You must actually think about what your next move will be. If you do things mindlessly and just go off of what it is that you want in the moment, you’ll end up spending $40 in one month solely on Starbucks rather than saving up for a car. Sometimes being purposeful in your decisions means NOT thinking much about it. If you are trying to avoid doing something, say spending money or some sort of bad habit, then it is probably best not think about doing these things at all and just go on autopilot if you are feeling tempted.

Lastly, you have to be self-aware. It is important to know your strengths and weaknesses. If you know that walking through the student center will make you want to buy food instead of save money, then walk around it. If you know that you can’t handle ignoring notifications on your phone then don’t taunt yourself by trying to study on it.

It seems that Americans are starting to lose its grip on self-discipline and delayed gratification because they rather go by the “treat yo self” motto, but that does not lead to long term success. If you really want to improve your life, keeping your future in mind and acting on that instead is what will help you. The people you hear about who are insanely productive and successful are not a different breed. They have just mastered the art of putting off what they want now, to focus on what they want long term. They have made delaying gratification a daily routine.