Don't Eat the Marshmallow

Do you ever have something that keeps popping up in your life, over and over? Recently, I read a newsletter that someone sent me,  the next day I saw a video post on Facebook, and the following day a friend mentioned the article her mother had read in the New Yorker, all referring to the marshmallow experiment of the sixties.

Research that was just published in this week's New Yorker magazine (May 18, 2009) challenges the long held notion of what develops success in adulthood. Jonah Lehrer, in his article "Don't," interviewed Walter Mischel, a Stanford University professor of psychology, on his fascinating experiments with marshmallows.

In the 1960s, in a nursery school/laboratory, Mischel did a series of experiments with young children to see who would be able to resist eating a marshmallow immediately for the gift of two marshmallows a few minutes later. The researcher would leave the room to allow the child more freedom in acting on impulse or waiting. Most children, not surprisingly, immediately consumed their marshmallow.  The children who waited engaged in many tactics to resist the temptation. Some covered their eyes or turned around so that they wouldn't have to see this fluffy white mound of sugary seduction.

And it worked. Their patience was rewarded. Mischel went back to the students he researched decades later to see how they were doing in life and arrived at some startling conclusions. In the words of Jonah Lehrer:

For decades, psychologists have focused on raw intelligence as the most important variable when it comes to predicting success in life. Mischel argues that intelligence is largely at the mercy of self-control; Even the smartest kids still need to do their homework. "What we're really measuring with the marshmallows isn't will power or self-control... It's much more important than that. This task forces kids to find a way to make the situation work for them." 

 
The waiting is not as important as the strategy that the child employs to delay immediate gratification for larger and ultimately more gratifying benefits. That shows intelligence. 

In these recessional times, it is really important to remember the old adage that "good things come to those who wait".  I am a firm believer in the rewards of having hope for a better day or a better outcome. Much of my success lies in my ability to be resourceful and avoid the temptation of a short term gain that might take me away from long term benefits.

When faced with tough life challenges, it can be difficult to have faith that good things will be on the horizon. What helps is to have a clear focus on what you want. I believe in visual aids, and have led workshops on vision boards to stay focused on what you are creating in your life.

What strategies have you used to stay focused?