The
classic Marshmallow Experiment of 1972 involved placing a marshmallow in front
of a young child, with the promise of a second marshmallow if he or she could refrain
from eating the squishy blob while a researcher stepped out of the room for 15
minutes.
Follow-up
studies over the next 40 years found that the children who were able to resist
the temptation to eat the marshmallow grew up to be people with better social
skills, higher test scores, and lower incidence of substance abuse. They also
turned out to be less obese and better able to deal with stress.
But
how to improve your ability to delay things like eating junk food when healthy
alternatives aren't available, or to remain on the treadmill when you'd rather
just stop?
Writer
James Clear suggests starting small, choosing one thing to improve
incrementally every day, and committing to not pushing off things that take
less than two minutes to do, such as washing the dishes after a meal or eating
a piece of fruit to work toward the goal of eating healthier.
Committing
to doing something every single day works too. "Top performers in every
field--athletes, musicians, CEOs, artists--they are all more consistent than
their peers," he writes. "They show up and deliver day after day
while everyone else gets bogged down with the urgencies of daily life and
fights a constant battle between procrastination and motivation."
- Derived from
an article titled “7 Scientifically Proven Ways to Achieve Better Success in
Life” by Christina Desmarais
