BALBOA Concepts Inc.: The Stanford Marshmallow Study

The Stanford Marshmallow Study
Delayed Gratification (Self-Discipline) the Key to Long Term Success

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 fifteen or twenty minutes for the experimenter to return would be demonstrating the ability to delay gratification and control impulse.

About one-third 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.

http://www.sybervision.com/Discipline/marshmallow.htm

BALBOA Concepts, Inc: 5 Year Personal Development Plan

5 Year Personal Development Plan

Where will you be in 5 years? What will your life be like? What will you do for a living? These are questions that many of us think about this time of year. When I look back at previous choices that I have made in my life I realize what profound differences a simple decision can make.

I am currently reading a simple but profound little book entitled “Don’t Eat the Marshmallow Yet!” Author Joachim de Posada, a world-renowned motivational speaker, writes about a landmark Standford University study of children who were able to delay gratification in the form of a marshmallow they’d been given to each with the promise that they’d be rewarded with an additional marshmallow if they resisted eating the first one for fifteen minutes. Revisited ten years later, the children who held out had grown up to be significantly more successful than those who had eaten their marshmallow immediately.

When most people think about “success” the subject of “delayed gratification” rarely comes up yet as Joachim points out in the book it may be the single most important decision you can make on your life journey. The decision to say “I pass” so we can say “I won” is significant.

A simple decision to put away $50 a week instead of spending it now on frivolous things can lead to a significant savings account over the period of a few years. A decision to save for a down payment on a house instead of moving to a larger apartment has created many prosperous property owners. The decision to finish school instead of taking that entry level job may pay big dividends.

As Joachim puts is so succinctly in his book; Successful people are willing to do things that unsuccessful people are unwilling to do.

Why not take a few minutes today and create a 5 year personal development plan for yourself. Visualize yourself as successful and write down your passions and visions of your life 5 years from now. Write down what you see in your mind. Only a small percentage of the population ever set goals for their lives, yet the ones that do have much greater success than those that don’t. Develop a marshmallow mindset and develop some long term habits that will take you to your destination.

My daughter and son-in-law gave me this book for Christmas. I want to say “Thank You” for the timely wisdom that this little book estols. This is life changing stuff!

http://successbeginstoday.org/wordpress/2006/01/5-year-personal-development-plan/