Which of these actions is an example of acting on an impulse rather than practicing delayed gratification?

A. Turning down a cigar even though many of your friends smoke

B. Sticking to your workout routine instead of skipping it to see a movie

C. Staying up late to watch a new TV show instead of getting sleep

D. Ordering a salad instead of a burger at lunch

Delayed gratification is the ability of resisting the temptation of an immediate reward. It means to wait for a bigger reward that's not present at the moment.

For example, staying up late to watch a new TV show instead of getting sleep is an example of lacking delayed gratification, because we couldn't resits the temptation of seeing that new TV show.

The counterpart of delayed gratification is acting on an impulse, a immediate desire at the moment that will make you feel good at that time.

So, if you look all choices, you would find that option C describes an action driven by an impulse and immediate gratification instead of a delayed gratification.

Other options actually are delayed gratification, turning down a cigar, sticking to your workout and ordering salad are behaviour that seek for a greater gratification later.

Therefore, the right answer is C.