The Marshmallow Test

Walter Mischel conducted a test that has. One to be known as The Marshmallow Test. He took a group of five-year-olds and have them all a treat they liked. He said that if they could wait 15 minutes he would give them a second treat to eat. Some atethe marshmallow without waiting and others recived the second treat. After the students finished high school Walter checked up on the children. And the children who waited to get get the second marshmallow not only scored higher on the SAT but also became more successful in life.

Those children who choose to wait not only showed self-control but also showed the ability to control their focus. Walter said, "If you're thinking about the marshmallow and how delicious it is, then you are going to eat it. The key is to avoid thinking about it in the first place." Walter pointed out in his study that the children who didn't eat the marshmallow all altered their focus onto other things. He said the children who waited played with their hands or sang Sesame Street songs to themselves.

Here is what this means to us: After my wife left me rich before finals I had to make a choice. I could give in to my situation or I could focus on what I did have. I could chose to finish my finals and study while my daughter was sleeping at night or I could worry about what I would do in the future. What matters then was taking care of my daughter and getting A's. I had to alter my focus to other things than the movies I would normally watch at night. It took far less effort than I thought it would I just had to focus on the short range goals I had.

What is interesting is that the children did not focus on getting a second marshmallow because all that did was make them want the one they could have now. What they did was focus on something completely different. when we focus only on long term goals it is similar to the children that were trying to hold out for the second marshmallow and making that there focus. They ended up failing and ate the one they had. Often getting to a long term goal takes a side step or two. You will get the long term goal you want but not of it is the only thing you are set on.