This article from Akamai Consulting’s blog will get you thinking…..mmm marshmallows….
Courtesy of www.sybervision.com, this study shows an amazing link between children’s ability to delay gratification and their future success in the adult world.
Stanford University psychology researcher Michael Mischel demonstrated how important self-discipline (the ability to delay immediate gratification in exchange for long term goal achievement) is to lifelong success? In a longitudinal study which began in the 1960s, he offered hungry 4-year-olds a marshmallow, but told them that if they could wait for the experimenter to return after running an errand, they could have two marshmallows.
Those who could wait the fifteen or twenty minutes for the experimenter to return would be demonstrating the ability to delay gratification and control impulse.
About one-third of of the children grabbed the single marshmallow right away while some waited a little longer, and about one-third were able to wait 15 or 20 minutes for the researcher to return.
Years later when the children graduated from high school, the differences between the two groups were dramatic: the resisters were more positive, self-motivating, persistent in the face of difficulties, and able to delay gratification in pursuit of their goals. They had the habits of successful people which resulted in more successful marriages, higher incomes, greater career satisfaction, better health, and more fulfilling lives than most of the population.
Those having grabbed the marshmallow were more troubled, stubborn and indecisive, mistrustful, less self-confident, and still could not put off gratification. They had trouble subordinating immediate impulses to achieve long-range goals. When it was time to study for the big test, they tended to get distracted into doing activities that brought instant gratification This impulse followed them throughout their lives and resulted in unsuccessful marriages, low job satisfaction and income, bad health, and frustrating lives.
Hi y’all! I’m a deep-fried Southern girl, born and raised in North Carolina. I’ve recently relocated to Boulder, Colorado and I am determined to adopt the healthy lifestyle of the people around me! It’s time for a real shift in my lifestyle – a paradigm shift that will create new habits and result in a thinner, happier, and hopefully better, Sara. A Sara 100 pounds lighter than I was when I started! Hope you decide to come along for the ride.
