One common thread among great entrepreneurs and successful people is the idea of delayed gratification. Delayed gratification means that you are willing to make a sacrifice now for something great in the future. Unfortunately in today’s “fast food” society, we want everything now, not later. As a result, future opportunities are short circuited and squandered away.
The best example of delayed gratification is revealed in a study known as The Stanford Marshmallow Study”. Michael Mischel, a Stanford psychology researcher, performed a study that began in the 1960s with four year olds and marshmallows. Four year old children were given one marshmallow. Did I mention that these children were also very hungry? The children were given two options. They could eat the one marshmallow now or if they waited for 15 or so minutes until the researcher returned, they could have a second marshmallow only if they did not eat the first one.
This study revealed some very interesting results. About one-third of the children devoured the marshmallow as soon as the researcher left the room. Other children were able to wait a little longer before succumbing to the pressure. The remaining one-third of the children waited 15 minutes or longer until the researcher returned without eating their one marshmallow. The longer term results of this study are very telling.
The children that were able to view the longer term gain of two marshmallows while enduring the immediate pain of not eating the one marshmallow in front of them in the heat of the moment went on to experience a greater amount of success in their lives.
After the children graduated high school, the group that waited for the second marshmallow was more positive, self-motivating, and persistent in the face of trials and so on. These children had the habits of successful people and those habits translated into better health, higher salaries, and better marriages.
Which group do you fall into right now? If you are currently devouring your marshmallows the second they hit your plate, there’s good news. You have the ability to alter your approach in this area of your life, but it involves sacrifice. Sacrifice is a word that makes most people cringe, but I promise you that with great sacrifice, there is great reward.
Take a few minutes and identify two areas in your life where you lack discipline, and then ask yourself what needs to change. Are you spending more money than you make right now? Are you watching television in the evenings instead of spending quality time with your spouse or children? Are you not giving your employer or business everything you’ve got when you’re at work? Are you spending time reading the bible and praying? Is the treadmill getting lonely at your house? Think about it for a moment. Once you identify those two areas that need to change, then go and do it. Don’t worry about making big changes at first. Start small and build incrementally.
The great entrepreneurs almost always delay present benefits for a future benefit by committing to hard work now. Learn from them, and apply this principle in your own life. Take action today. Delay gratification. Procrastinate on another day. Step up and make it happen. You will position yourself to do great things in the future, and the gratification will eventually come. Trust me.
