Retrain Your Brain To Overcome ‘Microwave Mentality’

If you’re looking for results in your business or personal life and feeling frustrated that it’s taking too long, perhaps you need to drop the microwave mentality. Remember: anything that’s worth something takes time.

I recall one day standing by my microwave and thinking to myself: “Man, this sure is taking a long time!” As soon as those words entered my mind, I realised that I had been conditioned by instant-gratification ideology. I was no longer patient. I wanted instant results — results so quickly that I considered the microwave as taking too much time. This was an eye-opener for me.

To be honest with ourselves, how many times have we wanted to be the exception to every rule? I want to lose weight, but I don’t want to stop eating dessert, candy bars, and fried foods. I want to lose weight, but I don’t want to exercise. I want to lose weight, but I want it now without any work put into it. I want to build a business, but I don’t want to start from the foundation. I want a successful business, but I don’t want to spend time and money to make it happen. I want to build a business, but I want it now without any work put into it. So, what can we do to change this mentality?

Retrain Your Brain

In today’s society, when everything is running at lightning speed, it’s easy for us to pick up this mentality and begin to get frustrated at the time it actually takes to become successful. “Anything worth doing is worth doing right,” is a Hunter S. Thompson quote that my grandmother used to say to me. There’s truth in that statement.

So how can we train our brains to understand this concept and keep from being frustrated? To begin with, realise that everything needs to be built on a strong, lasting foundation. A house being built is not finished overnight. The builders will begin with a foundation. In order to have anything of lasting value it must be started on a strong footing. The groundwork may take time, yet it’s essential for quality to be prevalent. This is true in our lives as well.

Break Down Your Goals

If you’re struggling with goals, whether they be professional or personal, you need to look at the finished product. After seeing the finished product in your mind, begin to break your goal down into segments. Often times, our frustration stems from looking at the big picture and feeling immobilised.

If you begin to break down the goal into smaller sections, you will find yourself moving along at a constant rate. You will no longer sense the frustration of not having finished your goal. You will begin to see each step of your accomplishment along the way. Celebrate the smaller victories, as you pace yourself for the remaining work. If you desire to lose 50 pounds, set mini-goals along the way and celebrate your constant successes. When we see the forward motion of our performances, we begin to have patience for the results.

Write Out Your Goals

This is a practice used by the most successful people in the world today. When you write them down, remember to break them into small do-able sections. Each day do at least one thing to push you toward fulfillment of your goal. By incorporating this type of mentality you will begin to experience inner satisfaction from the triumphs you achieve. Jack Canfield, the co-author of Chicken Soup for the Soul, writes his goals on index cards and reads them in the morning and evening each day. What a great habit! Before beginning to set a goal, do research on someone who has done this and see the amount of time and effort that it requires. You’ll be able to gauge your activities against another person’s success. This will encourage you and keep you motivated toward completion.

I realise how simple it is to want instant gratification. We live in a fast-paced world and we desire fast-paced results, but the microwave mentality doesn’t work on anything of value in our lives. We need to realign our thinking. Pursue your goals and dreams with a desire for quality, regardless of the time and effort it takes. Remember, the only thing a microwave is really good for is to heat up leftovers!

Why the Microwave Mentality Doesn’t Work [Lifehack.org]

Charlene Tops is a certified life coach through the CASE Institute.She has traveled internationally as a keynote speaker at retreats, conferences, and weekly group sessions. A college graduate of a 3-year Leadership program from Zion College, she blends humour, wit, and passion with everything she does. Charlene resides in Ontario, Canada with her husband and pets.