The Marshmallow Principle of Success

What do marshmallows have to do with success? A study conducted in the 1960s by Stanford University researcher Michael Mischel showed that there is a strong correlation between delayed gratification and long-term success. In this study, 4-year-old children were given one marshmallow and were told that if they could wait until the researcher returned from running an errand before eating the marshmallow they would be given one more marshmallow.

About on-third of the children ate the marshmallow right away. Another third waited for a few minutes, but could not resist the temptation and ate the marshmallow before the researcher returned. The last third of the children were able to wait 15-20 minutes until the researcher returned and were rewarded with the extra marshmallow.

Several years later they followed up with these children and found that the one third that had demonstrated the ability to delay gratification and control impulse became successful, well adjusted young adults and continued to enjoy success later in life. These individuals were more positive, were able to motivate themselves, and had the ability to persist when facing difficulties in pursuing their goals. As a result they had more successful marriages, more money, better satisfaction in their jobs, and better health.

The one-third of the children that could not delay gratification and control their impulse faced more difficulties later in life, and they were found to be more troubled, stubborn and less likely to achieve long-term goals. These individuals were usually easily distracted and had difficulty concentrating in preparing for an important event such as a big test. These problems followed them throughout life resulting in less successful marriages, low job satisfaction, poor health and a more frustrating life.

Joachim de Posada, a renown motivational speaker, has leveraged this study to create the Marshmallow Principle which he describes in detail in his book Don't Eat The Marshmallow…Yet!: The Secret to Sweet Success in Work and Life. The book describes the difference between success and failure using a parable and real life examples. It is based on the idea that success has more to do with delayed gratification than hard work or superior intelligence.

Think about how this principle contrasts to recent trends in society to seek immediate gratification. Are these trends detrimental to the success of future generations? Are we teaching our children the right tools for achieving success?

This study seems to imply that success is to a great extent an inherited trait. Those that were born with the right genes and who are able to naturally control their needs for immediate gratification will be more successful than those that were not as lucky. However, other studies have shown opposing views that go as far as attributing success completely to effort and practice, regardless of natural talents. De Posada believes that the truth lies somewhere in between. According to him your genetic blueprint will have an important impact on your ability to be successful, but the environment has just as strong an effect. In other words, the skills required for success can to a certain extent be learned, and even those that were not naturally gifted have an opportunity to learn the behaviors that lead to success. The nature versus nurture debate presses on.

Delaying gratification requires discipline, persistence and strong will. These are virtues that you find in many successful people. If you were not born with these traits, you should develop them through training and practice. The next time you feel the urge for immediate gratification, remember the marshmallow principle.