Eyes on the Prize

Over the past few years, many of us have seen the TikTok trend of testing children’s abilities to wait when given a marshmallow. The idea of this funny trend is to see if these young kids can wait to eat 1 marshmallow for a pre-set period of time, and if they do, they get more (often 2 or 3). In fact, I recall my wife and I doing this with my oldest daughter when she was about 3 during this trend. But this TikTok trend was nothing new. In fact, in the early 1970s, Stanford University lead a controlled “delayed satisfaction study” that was precisely what is being replicated on TikTok called The Stanford Marshmallow Experiment. In follow-up studies, the researchers found that children who were able to wait longer for the preferred rewards tended to have better life outcomes, as measured by SAT scores, educational attainment, body mass index (BMI), and other life measures. Approximately 1/3rd of those presented with this test waited.?

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As adults equipped with fully developed brains, we may be thinking “I would definitely wait, that’s an easy choice.” However, when we think more carefully about diet choices, daily behavioral habits, financial decisions, and more – we quickly realize that adults, like children, are regularly challenged (and fail) at staying focused on the big picture. As told by Richard G. Scott, author of Finding Peace, Happiness, and Joy “We become what we want to be, by consistently being what we want to become each day.”?

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This weekend, I was watching the 127th annual football game between the Oregon Ducks and the Oregon State Beavers (one of the oldest rivalries in college football). As a big Duck’s fan in a family mixed between the 2 two schools, I was all in on the game. The Univ. of Oregon quarterback, Bo Nix, is in his final year and he shared the advice his father gave him ahead of the game in an interview. The advice? “Don’t give up what you most, for what you want right now.”??

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This sage advice (also a quote from Richard G. Scott) was provided in the context of don’t quit when things get hard. That quarterback likely wants to win the Heisman Trophy more than he wants to rest for 10 seconds during a game. That quarterback likely wants to lead his team to a national championship more than he wants a sip of water during a tough series of plays. That quarterback will have 100 opportunities to succumb to what he wants right now, in place of his ultimate goals and his father was reminding him to stay focused on the prize at the end.??

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In a few days, we are entering the last month of 2023, a long year of pursuing our goals, objectives, transformations, and desires that are all much bigger than individual moments. To realize those things, we must each keep our eyes on the prize and resist giving into what we want now, for the things we want most.??

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Our discipline, support systems, and our commitment to ourselves is what helps carry us through to victory! Here’s to an excellent rest of 2023 to each of you!

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P.S. the Ducks won ??