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Instant gratification can be good for you

2026-01-22 · Short · Ali · recording, 1:10 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Productivity and time · mode: Explanation and tutorial

In a Short, Ali says that when he struggles to start a hard task such as a run, he rewards himself afterwards with a video game, despite studies warning that extrinsic rewards can crowd out intrinsic motivation.

What is said

The parts of the video and what is said in each (★ — how much it matters to the video).

00:00:00 — Using instant gratification as a reward for doing the hard thing first

  • ★★ Ali calls rewarding himself bad practice, since some studies show that extrinsic rewards such as treats risk drowning out intrinsic motivation for the craft, but says he chooses to ignore those studies. — 00:00:00 · identified motivation
  • ★★ When Ali struggles to get started on something hard, such as filming a video or going for a run, he ties a reward to it: the run first, then a little Hogwarts Legacy. — 00:00:29
  • ★★ Ali says playing video games or scrolling TikTok is low-effort dopamine; giving yourself that dopamine as a reward after something painful or difficult theoretically trains your brain to enjoy hard things rather than default to easy ones. (hedged) — 00:00:29 · TikTok

Threads in this video

Mentioned

Central: dopamine · extrinsic motivation

Also: Hogwarts Legacy · identified motivation · TikTok

Also centred on dopamine: How Dopamine Actually Works 🧠 · How much dopamine do you get from sex? · This dopamine study is mind blowing 🐀 · How to Control Dopamine (You're Destroying Your Mind) · How to Reset Your Dopamine (And Change Your Life) · This one habit can change your days dramatically

Also centred on extrinsic motivation: Find Your True Motivation 🔎

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