24 September 2021

I started noticing a number of people lamenting about the pitfalls of working from home in Lockdown and their lack of self control when it came to all things deemed delicious. This morning's overheard conversation went somewhat like this:

"I ate far too much when I was working from home"

"Same.... chocolate was my thing..."

"What sort?"

"Fruit and Nut ...... and Caramello"

"Ohhhhh, Caramello.... every day?"

"Oh totally, and I'm not just talking one or two squares either!"

Marshmallow Test

I love thinking about the marshmallow test conducted by Dan Goleman, author of Emotional Intelligence, in the 1970s. Some of you will have heard of it I'm sure. "Young children, about seven years old, were brought one by one into a small room where another researcher was waiting. The researcher explained to each child that they had to leave for a few minutes and offered them a marshmallow. They could eat it then or they could decide to wait until the researcher got back - if they could, they got a second one....."

Ten years later, Goleman tracked the children who had been in the experiment - they were now almost finishing Secondary School.

Conclusion: Those children who could delay instant gratification and get the two marshmallows were making significantly better progress both socially and academically.

I am wondering what I would have done if I had been a child in the experiment. Marshmallows would have been a special treat in our house in the 70s. On the other hand, I was that annoying older sibling who 'pretended' to have eaten all their Easter loot but bring it out day after day to taunt.... my younger brother. From my slightly foggy memory, it backfired and I had to share some of it for 'being mean'!

It always makes me smile when I overhear people's confessions! There is a lot of research out there around impulse control and willpower. A while back, I read "Willpower" by researcher Roy F. Baumeister and science writer John Tierney. Baumeister discovered that willpower actually operates like a muscle: it can be strengthened with practice and fatigued by overuse. Interesting fact: His latest research shows that we spend about four hours every day resisting temptation!

You wonder where time goes.... now you know!

In a few weeks, some of us will be at home again with school holidays on the horizon. I'm going to keep the marshmallows in mind!