16 Nov Did you know that you can help your child learn ONE THING that can determine their success in life
In the 1960s, a Stanford professor named Walter Mischel began conducting a series of important psychological studies now famously known as the Marshmallow Experiment. In the experiment, children aged 4 and 5 were led into a private room, and sat in front of a table with a marshmallow on it. Each child was told that if he did not eat the marshmallow while the researcher was away, then they would be rewarded with a second marshmallow. However, if the child decided to eat the first one before the researcher came back, then they would not get a second marshmallow.
The researcher left the room for 15 minutes.
Some children jumped up and ate the first marshmallow as soon as the researcher closed the door. Others tried but eventually gave in to temptation a few minutes later. And finally, a few of the children did manage to wait the entire time.
The researchers followed each child for more than 40 years and over and over again, the group who waited patiently for the second marshmallow succeed in whatever capacity they were measuring. In other words, this series of experiments proved that the ability to delay gratification was critical for success in life.
Success usually comes down to choosing the pain of discipline over the ease of distraction. And that’s exactly what delayed gratification is all about.
More research has shown that delayed gratification is a trait that can be trained. We can train our ability to delay gratification, just like we can train our muscles in the gym. And you can train your child to learn delayed gratification by promising something small and then delivering. Over and over again until your brain says, 1) yes, it’s worth it to wait and 2) yes, I have the capability to do this.
Here are 4 simple ways to do exactly that:
1. Start incredibly small. Make your new habit “so easy you can’t say no.”
2. Improve one thing, by one percent. Do it again tomorrow.
3. Do it everyday to maintain consistency.
4. Find a way to get started in less than 2 minutes.