Gratification

I have found the chapter I am reading in “Atomic Habits” particularly interesting.  He has been talking about behaviour change mentioning to make it obvious, make it attractive and to make it easy.  Now he has gotten on to making it satisfying.
He talks about the difference between immediate gratification and delayed gratification.
He makes, what I believe is a valid point that so much of our activity is to do with immediate gratification.  For example having a bowl of ice cream or watching an inordinate amount of tv.   Neither activity is good in the long term.  Regularly having a bowl of ice-cream tends to hinder a longer-term goal of getting fit or losing weight.  As he puts it “the road less travelled is the road of delayed gratification.”  O quote him again “success in nearly every field requires you to ignore an immediate reward in favour of a delayed reward.”
It is true that getting fit it is always all sacrifice early in.  For me the feedback of getting fit is aches and pains.  It is only down the track I find I am fitter and activity requires less effort.
The way he recommends getting around what is natural to do is to throw in an immediate reward into a delayed reward activity.  For example a person is more inclined to exercise knowing that at the end of it is a 10 minute stint on social media which is enjoyed and gives immediate reward.
One of the reasons I am enjoying what I am reading is I find it too easy to mis-diagnose a motivational problem.  Things may be hard but not impossibly hard.  There are times when it is best to just hang in there.  Rewards are not immediately obvious.  Something may pay off down the track.
It is up to me I think to give myself little rewards along the way knowing that pay off may come down the track.  Hanging in may go against my natural inclination of wanting to see results immediately.  But I know down the track the reward will be far greater and closer aligned to my long term goals.
No wonder it is said “when the going gets tough the tough get going.”  Or to say something the author said was a common saying but I have never heard before, “the last mile is always the least crowded.”
Delayed does not mean never.