What makes people able to achieve their goals?
There could be many answers to this question.
But at least one of those factors is undoubtedly, self-control.
In the late 1960s, Stanford researchers ran a series of experiments to see how children
would cope with delayed gratification.
This is when you choose to give up an instant reward, for a greater, future benefit.
For example, avoiding that muffin now, so you can look good on the beach.
Or, choosing not to play with your friends so you can study for an upcoming exam.
So going back to our Stanford experiment.
A child (let’s call him Timmy) was left alone in a room with one marshmallow.
They told Timmy that if the marshmallow was still there when the researcher came back,
he would get another marshmallow as a bonus.
Double the reward, just for waiting?
Who wouldn’t take up that deal?
But then again, that’s easier said than done.
As you can imagine, little Timmy struggled with his inner demons, striving to triumph
against temptation.
His rational brain was telling him that waiting is the correct choice!
At the end of the experiment, some children were able to resist the temptation, while
others couldn’t stop themselves from taking a bite of that sugary treat.
Some cheeky kids even tried to eat small parts of the marshmallow with hopes of not getting
caught!
Several years passed, and the researchers revisited these children to see how they were
doing.
As it turns out, the children who were able to wait longer were more likely to have better
academic results, and their parents rated them as having higher tolerance for stress
Ability to plan and reason.
And exhibit self control in frustrating situations.
Many years later they went back to these same children, but now they were in their 40’s.
They were tested once more on their willpower and self-control.
The results were in.
Even after several decades, the people who showed strong self-control as children, continued
this trend well into their adulthood.
Brain scans revealed, those who were able to display self-control, had more activity
in the pre-frontal cortex.
In a previous video about willpower, I nicknamed this area the “human brain.”
If you want to learn about getting better at delayed gratification,
you might benefit from understanding more about willpower.
You can click the link at the end of this video to find out more.
If you think about it, the results from this experiment makes perfect sense.
If waiting gives a greater, long-term benefit, then always choosing the option with the biggest
pay-off, will eventually turn into what people might call, “success.”
So next time when you’re faced with the soul-crushing decision of resisting that donut,
or, being tempted to procrastinate instead of studying, remember this video and the Stanford
marshmallow experiment.
Don’t be like this guy!
Lastly, I’d like to leave you with one, final idea.
If we expand the time frame of delayed gratification by a few years, one might argue that this
is called an “investment.”
I.e.
Giving up your ability to spend money now, for a greater payoff in the future.
Albeit with a risk component due the increased time frame.
But then, is it a coincidence that the wealthiest people in the world
all have financial investments, like stocks, bonds or real estate?
Comment your below