On the journey to becoming a productive member of society I had to compartmentalize my inner child.
During my early schoolboy years, he waited patiently for the school day to finish so that he could finally resume his creative and playful pursuits.
As the education became more involved, he had to wait a little longer because of homework.
In university, the complicated assignments, group projects, and late night study sessions meant that he would often not get to let loose until the weekend.
The full-time job, commute, technical projects, work politics, and other adult responsibilities really did the biggest number on him though. Sometimes he would go without playing for weeks, or months at a time.
Today it's as if my adult mask has adhered permanently to my face and I can no longer access him at all.
Telling someone to change jobs and avoid dating is not the same thing as saying he delayed gratification. The ladder is just a quality of growing away from your childhood.
My question was rhetorical. You still tried to answer my question by making up context just like your posts about OP. This is what I'm saying is pointless. There are more important things in life than retaining your childhood such as providing for yourself and others. I would guess in most cases, growing away from your childhood is done out of necessity. It's a sacrifice of time people choose because of the consequences of the alternative but you say OP should have made different decisions to prioritize their childhood? Your criticisms are only valid for someone who sacrifices needlessly which doesn't seem like a common thing.