In the late 1960s and early 1970s at Stanford University, psychologist Walter Mischel conducted a series of experiments now referred to as the “marshmallow tests.”
The experiments went like this: he put a single marshmallow on a plate in front of a child. He then told the child that they could either eat the one marshmallow now, or they could wait ten minutes and get two marshmallows.
Some kids waited, others ate the marshmallow immediately. Then Mischel tracked each child's success in life through factors like SAT scores (notas em exames escolares), educational attainment (frequência em aulas) and body mass index (índice de massa corporal).
What he found was the children who could wait the ten minutes to get the two marshmallows led significantly more successful lives – even above other factors like IQ.
The point? Self-discipline really matters.
If you have the self-discipline to delay (adiar) your gratification – like some of the kids did by not eating the marshmallow right away – you’ll have a more successful life.
