Fearlessly Courageous

Fearlessly Courageous

Desk of Dennis Piller

1/14/2021

The Marshmallow

Years ago, Stanford University conducted an interesting study. They took a group of kids around five years old from a wide variety of social, economic, and racial backgrounds and gave them a marshmallow. They said I am giving you one marshmallow, and I’m going to leave for 20 minutes, if you wait until I get back to eat the marshmallow, I’ll give you two more. Some of them burst into tears because they couldn’t get their way – they wanted it right now. It was just too much pressure. Others licked the bottom of their marshmallow and put it back, repeatedly. A few others tormented themselves staring at their marshmallows with their mouths watering. There were a few kids who just couldn’t wait and started nibbling off little pieces. And finally, there were a few who occupied themselves with a toy or a book and waited. But that wasn’t the end of the experiment. They followed these exact same kids 10 years later. They discovered that the kids who waited scored an average of more than 200 points higher on their SAT’s. The ones who waited had a lower occurrence of juvenile delinquency, drug and alcohol abuse, and other risky behaviors. They found that these kids had developed a high emotional quotient. It was like a higher emotional IQ or emotional intelligence that helped them figure out self-control. In other words, those who have the ability to exercise self-control, self-discipline, and delayed gratification are the ones that had mastered the art of achieving success because they know how to work for it, and they know how to wait for it. So what is your emotional IQ or emotional intelligence? You’ll have to answer that one for yourself by looking in the mirror at your self-control, self-discipline, and delayed gratification as relates to the important areas of your life. I am reading a book called the Naked Truth by Lakita Garth. It’s about sex, love, and relationships. She said abstinence is mastering the art of self-control, self-discipline, and delayed gratification.

She said it is not something you do or don’t do… it’s a lifestyle.

I believe most of us don’t have an issue with abstinence, but the same philosophy works in every area of our lives. Anger, forgiveness, pornography, alcohol, eating, budgeting… there are so many. “The wise person is self-controlled. He does not give free vent to his anger or act emotionally or out of control”. Proverbs 10:19, 16:21,23: 29:8 As we begin a new year, these three become paramount in laying out the foundation for our new goals.