Are You a 1 Marshmallow or 2 Marshmallow Person?

Believe it or not, your answer to that question can tell you a lot about how successful you will be when it comes to your finances and education!

Stanford University psychology professor Michael Mischel conducted a study during the 1960’s that focused on the behavior of 4 year olds regarding delayed gratification and impulse control. He placed a marshmallow in front of each child; then he offered to give another marshmallow to anyone who still had the marshmallow in front of them when he returned after leaving for approximately 20 minutes. Some children ate the marshmallow right away, some tried to distract themselves to avoid eating the marshmallow when he returned, and some were able to wait.

Fourteen years later, Professor Mischel followed up with the group of children to see if there were any measurable differences with the children. The children who had waited for the second marshmallow had scored an average of 210 points higher on their SAT’s, were self motivated and were able to delay gratification in order to meet longer term goals. The 1 marshmallow children were more troubled—they were less successful in school, less self confident and mistrustful of others.

So why does it matter?

Poor impulse control usually leads to rash decision-making, which can create havoc in your personal and professional life. But learning to wait for the better payoff pays of exponentially.

There is an old adage—“Good things come to those who wait…” If you can control your impulses and delay the payoff, you will be more successful in meeting long term goals. The odds are with you that you will finish more schooling, leading to greater success in a career path, which leads to far greater earnings over a lifetime; you will tend to save more money, and earn a greater rate of return; and you will delay making big financial purchases until you are capable of handling them.

There is another saying—“Never give up what you really want for what you want right now.” It is important to set goals, and then make a plan to get there. It is even more helpful to keep visual reminders of the goals you have set, since that will keep you focused on the payoff.

Can you teach someone to become a 2 Marshmallow person? Of course! The first step is to spend some time visualizing what you really want. Is it your first brand new car? A college education? A big wedding? A trip to France? Once you have focused on your heart’s desire, then it’s important to research the costs of what you want, and break it down into manageable parts. How long will it take you? How much will you need to put aside? What are you willing to sacrifice now to reach your goal in time? Then it really is important to manage your feelings regarding your delayed gratification.

If you know you’ve been a 1 Marshmallow person for a long time, you might want to set a short-term goal so you can “practice” telling yourself “NO” when something temporarily tempting comes up. Try putting off a small discretionary purchase. Put a dollar or two aside every day, and celebrate by purchasing it at the end of the month!