Would you pass the Marshmallow Experiment?

In the 1960s, a Stanford professor named Walter Mischel began conducting a series of important psychological studies, one of which is the experiment I am talking about here.

The experiment was conducted among many children and began by bringing each child into a private room, sitting them down in a chair, and placing a marshmallow on the table in front of them. At this point, the researcher offered a deal to the child. The children were informed that they would be left alone in the room for 15 minutes and if they didn’t eat the marshmallow until then, they would be rewarded with a second one!

So, the choice was simple: one treat right now or two treats later.

The results were varied (and entertaining to watch – because of course, kids are cute!) Some kids ate the one in front of them almost immediately, others gave in after a few minutes and a few managed to resist temptation.

As the years rolled on and the children grew up, the researchers conducted follow up studies and tracked each child’s progress in a number of areas. The children who were willing to delay gratification and waited to receive the second marshmallow ended up having higher SAT scores, lower levels of substance abuse, lower likelihood of obesity, better responses to stress, better social skills as reported by their parents, and generally better scores in a range of other life measures.?

If we had to sum it up in one sentence – this describes the power of delayed gratification.

You may notice yourself practicing it in small ways such as checking your phone only after you finish reading a chapter or eating dessert only after your greens.

So, why am I telling you this?

I find a lot of joy in this process. Of course, there are days you must just eat the damn marshmallow but on most others, delayed gratification really works.

Christmas for me is one of those many moments during the year I love to fully enjoy. My second marshmallow, if you will.

And so, I view November as a month of dedicated work to make the joy of Christmas even sweeter.

I am committed to working with 10 individuals this month to help them get a head start on their goals before the year ends. So they can enjoy their second marshmallow this New Year!

If you’re one of them – let me know today!