To delay gratification is in my belief; to forego consumption today for greater prosperity tomorrow or better put, delay today's enjoyment for tomorrows benefit. The benefactors who stick to their strategy, have more consistent performance over time. By finding ways to embolden ones own discipline by either looking away, or by holding your long throat, one can use similar tactics to do the same thing as an investor. Think out a plan. Write it down. Set up automatic deposit or dividend reinvestment plans.
Does it therefore mean that the outcome of an investment can be determined in advance when we delay enjoyment/gratification?
There have been made studies in the past which show that delay gratification is in fact a key factor when it comes to explaining the success people get over time, and it is not difficult to see why, those which can delay the want to purchase something and instead save that money and then invest it end up in a better position later in life than those which were in the same circumstances but which spent their money immediately or even took on credit to make on their purchases, so it is important that before we buy something we want but do not need to think about it first and see if it is not better to save that money instead of spending it.