Summary
Some kids were saying to themselves: “I want to eat these marshmallows NOW!” Others were like: “I can wait, so I can have some MORE later!”
Some of you have probably heard of Stanford University’s Marshmallow Test. It’s an interesting study on self-discipline. The participants were little children who were given marshmallows and were told that if they waited until they were told to eat them, they would have double the amount of marshmallows to eat later. Some kids didn’t wait. They couldn’t help themselves and just devoured the marshmallows in front of them. The other kids waited and got double the amount after waiting for a period.
The study continued over the next few decades observing these children progress (or not progress) through life. The research found that those children who practiced self-control were more successful in life than those who did not. This result, of course, is not surprising, and there are a few reasons underpinning the outcomes:
- Learning self-control at a young age helps you learn to see the big picture
- It helps you think of the fundamental drivers of success early on in life
- More time means longer run way to develop yourself; you can leverage talents and resources with time
- Hurdles to achieving goals are many and they are tempting
- Becoming wealthy is a mental as well as a behavioral activity
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Related Topics
Learning self-control at a young age helps you see the big picture and learn about the fundamental drivers of success early on in life
Learning self – control at a young age provides you with not only being able to prioritize those activities that directly relate to the success drivers, but also gives you a lot of time to perfect those activities and yourself. To prioritize, ask: what are those activities that would significantly improve your quality of life?
When I was in college, I had the option to work either as a tutor or a tour guide. The tutoring job paid $6.25 per hour. The tour guide job, however, had a range of $6.25 to $12.00 per hour, plus tips – up to $200 per tour – the highest I heard. I first started out working as a tour guide. While I did like the job as it was fun and paid relatively well (especially for a student), I knew the skills I would develop was limited and would not directly benefit me in the long run.
Being a Research/Teaching assistant, on the other hand, would as it would further enhance the learning I was getting in class (my major was business/finance). Though it was hard to think about foregoing the extra money from being a tour guide, I applied for the Research/Teaching assistant position. I also indicated in the application form that I didn’t need to get paid. I just wanted to do learn and teach! Long story short, the professor hired me. While I didn’t expect to be paid, securing the job entailed that I would. As I mentioned, this move was not financially rewarding in the short-term, but I knew the long-term rewards would be tremendous!
When you do not know what you want in life, it is sometimes hard to learn and practice self-control. This is compounded when you are currently living a life of comfort; it is hard to transition from your comfort zone to an uncharted territory. But, it is essential that we do not let the life of comfort deter us from what we truly desire! Perhaps, this is the reason why all of us experience life’s vicissitudes as it provides us with an opportunity to change.
Three years ago, I witnessed a fire outbreak that took place in this large residential building. Everyone had to evacuate, and those affected were forced to make life altering decisions quickly. Everyone in that building only chose to bring critical items – wallets, important documents, phones, etc. – with them. All the non-essentials were left behind. We do not need to be in this forced scenario to learn to prioritize. But, it does require commitment and self-discipline to change.
Learning self-control at a young age improves your chances of becoming wealthy sooner than later because you get to leverage energy and resources with time
This is one of the most important life principles that many do not understand. Certain things in life grow with time. One just needs to be patient. Investing money in an index fund at a young age – say 10 years old – is one of them. Over a 30 year period, with a very high probability, that investment will grow in multiples. A $1,000 invested in an index fund for 30 years would be worth approximately 10,000 at 8% compounded annually. I know it is hard to believe this especially if one does not understand the time value of money. But, trust me, it does grow. Sacrificing, by not consuming that $1,000 now, would be worth more in the future.
It is so imperative for parents to teach their children self-control when they are young. As one matures, habits are formed and they become hard wired that they are very hard to change. If you are, however, in this later stage category where bad habits are firmly rooted, you need to set daily goals that you can tactically execute each day and strategically in months and years.
There are may obstacles along the way, so stay focused
There are numerous hurdles, however, in practicing self-control both from a micro and macro economic level. External forces are so strong tempting us to cave into the tendencies of human nature. They cloud our judgment. Consumerism is so pervasive in the West. The whole Western economic model is based on consumption. From Facebook to the late night shows, one will observe that the main objective is to get you engaged in a transaction, spend your money right there and then. Marketers employ so many deceptive tactics so that you buy now with a click of a button (think of the infomercials that says if you buy NOW, you will get this and that. They do not want you to think rationally about your purchase).
Our collective personal decisions result in macro-economic outcomes. A couple of years ago, I was reading a National Geographic article about the declining Yellowfin tunas stock in the Pacific Ocean. A Japanese scientist mentioned that the global demand appears to want these tunas now by offering the fishermen premium prices. Can’t say “No” to that! Hence, these tunas are overfished that even the young(er) stocks are harvested threatening their survival and the ecosystem that depends on them. Common sense would dictate that the best way to increase the supply of the Yellowfins is to harvest the mature ones only, allow the young(er) stocks to grow with time, and only consume what is needed currently to have plenty more stock in the future. But, when you are in the middle of these transactions where millions of dollars are at stake “now”, it’s easy to lose sight of the ideal and long term view we just mentioned.
Becoming wealthy is a mental as well as a behavioral activity. A strong internal will to overcome the external and billowing forces is critical to achieving long-term success. Stay focused! Stay disciplined!
Action Item
I would love to hear your thoughts and experiences how you became successful and how you practiced self-discipline to achieve your goals.