Take the extra moment to live in the moment and our unconscious habits of selfishness reveal themselves to us. That gives us the ability to alter our course, and be who we want to be.
Thanks Margaret, who I don't always agree with: it is possible to improve ourselves, not to be less attentive to the world but to be more so.
Mindfulness is anything but instant gratification: it makes the instant meaningful in itself and meditation, as you noted IS work.