4.Don’t Set Rewards Too Far in the Future
A little delayed gratification is healthy. But delaying your gratification for too long becomes damaging. “Perhaps it’s a vacation, special day of celebration like a birthday or anniversary, a milestone like retirement, a hard-earned completion like a graduation,” says Ken Druck, an expert in aging, mindfulness, and grief, and author of the forthcoming book Courageous Aging.
“Whether we’re caught up in trying to speed up time, or slow it down, self-management [of stress] begins with a stepping back, taking a deep breath, calming our thoughts and doing whatever we can to best insure a good outcome.”
