Afrika

Delay in gratification of needs

About need satisfaction and regulation. How can you ensure that a need passes without having to be satisfied? And why wouldn’t you simply strive for maximum satisfaction? The hunt for fulfillment of needs, viewed from different perspectives.

The pyramid of needs

Maslow’s pyramid of needs distinguishes between very basic, primitive needs and higher needs. In this context, the primitive needs include breathing, water, food, sex, sports and defecation. Only when basic needs are met can a being strive for higher needs. There are successively safety needs, social needs, recognition needs and self-development needs. In many schools this pyramid is taught in a psychological and/or biological curriculum, although several modern researchers question the sustainability of this classification. Are needs universal and classifiable?

Whatever the answer to that question, the Maslow pyramid certainly provides guidance.

Religious perspectives

Various religious/spiritual movements speak of reducing needs. What is the thinking behind that? And which category of needs does this involve?

In the major religions we see a fasting ritual . The conscious abstinence from food, drink and sex is on the one hand intended to practice compassion for those who have little to live on, and on the other hand it is a cleansing ritual to need less. The expression excess is harmful strongly applies to this line of thought. The fasting ritual is an example of delaying gratification of needs. Some people laugh about these rituals. It would be about taking a break and then happily catching up. But is that really so? If we look at the groups that fast, there are many participants who know what they are doing it for. They do not see fasting as a goal that must be carried out and nothing else. Those who know what they are doing see fasting as a means to achieve other goals. For example, think of compassion, self-control and satisfaction with what you have.

Fasting is perhaps the most striking example of need regulation, but there are many others. In the spiritual movement Taoism, for example, there is a special view on the secretion of body fluids. Examples include saliva and semen. Spitting out saliva is equivalent to breaking a cycle. It is better not to just throw away the saliva that was on its way to mix with other substances in the body, full of all kinds of energies. You swallow it and let it do its work in the body. Something different applies to sperm. This substance makes reproduction possible. It is one of the richest substances in humans. If you ejaculate frequently, your body has to start the process again and again to replenish the supply necessary for reproduction. This can be at the expense of other processes. Here too, thrift is encouraged and waste is discouraged.

Pedagogical framework

Looking at the pedagogical side of self-regulation and control of needs, we see the following. When it comes to children, they play outside all day and mainly eat sweets. Parents and school teachers often do their best to more or less subtly stop these tendencies. We also see behavior of excessive chasing of needs among young people. Just think of gaming, binge drinking, weed or sex addictions. This often goes away as one gets older. In children and young people, guidance is sometimes needed to prevent excesses. In psychology, there is talk about developmental stages of the prefrontal cortex in the brain. Children are said to be unable to see the consequences of excessive behavior and therefore have to rely on the conscience of their elders. However, there is no consensus on this. Some children are able to sense embarrassment very early and inhibit their behavior if necessary.

Meditation

A proven concept for reducing needs is meditation. While meditating, you let all thoughts about needs float by as if they were clouds in the sky. You see them come, go and be replaced by new ones. Until they don’t come anymore. This exercise is not easy and cannot simply be done in between. It is therefore unrealistic to expect salvation from meditation for the average person.

Pragmatism

Suppose you are neither religious nor spiritual. You have a down-to-earth attitude and a pragmatic approach to life. For what purpose would you want to delay gratification? The answer is actually obvious. Intensity. Just think of a long mountain hike, complete with hardships. The more kilometers you travel, the greater the desire to sit quietly with your feet up by a fireplace. If you finally succeed in satisfying that need for warmth and rest, the satisfaction is much greater than it would have been without those hardships. Postponement increases the intensity of the experience and increases satisfaction. This also applies to small things like eating chocolate. If you eat a piece of chocolate every evening, every two hours, it will only provide a fraction of the satisfaction in the long run. But if you reward yourself with a piece of chocolate every now and then, after a hard day at work, the intensity of the experience is much greater.

Market & Supply

The economy benefits from people spending a lot of money. Smart advertising and marketing attempts to entice people to purchase items or services that meet almost all conceivable needs. Both the most basic and higher needs. The pursuit of recognition, for example, can be expressed by purchasing a nice car or the right branded clothing, or by visiting the tanning bed. You can go to a sex house for sex and hire a buddy for camaraderie. Especially in urban environments, it is not difficult to find offers that meet your needs. Stores and companies will try to motivate you to purchase items and services. You hardly have to put any effort into it yourself.

Questions about need satisfaction

The pursuit of the fulfillment of needs is inherent to human beings. However, the extent to which this happens varies from individual to individual and from group to group. From a religious, pedagogical and pragmatic point of view, you can question the pursuit of as much satisfaction as possible. Is it really that good to always satisfy one need after another? Does it make you feel better? Can’t we teach ourselves to moderate? The economy is running at full speed and benefits from growth and continuously increasing sales. Sometimes it can be difficult to resist that. But eventually many people learn to reduce their need-hunting with age. And for those who don’t want that: it is still your own choice. The fact that large groups are opposed to it does not mean that you as an individual cannot benefit from maximum satisfaction of your needs.