The waiting game

Columbia University Psychologist Walter Mischel conducted an experiment on a group of four-year olds. The children were offered a marshmallow, and told that they could have it now, or if they could wait, they could have two. Some children grabbed the marshmallow on the spot but many of them were able to hold off. Mischel followed up on the children as adults and discovered that those who didn’t eat their marshmallows that day were generally more self-motivated, successful in school and considered emotionally intelligent. Those who didn’t wait suffered from low self-esteem and were easily frustrated.
--Financial Highway

An important lesson that can only mean one thing: People who are self-motivated, successful in school, and destined for greatness have a natural aversion to marshmallows.

It’s like being born pretty or playing the trumpet by ear. Somethings you just can’t pretend; truth will out. This marshmallow hatred – many are called, but few are chosen.

Don’t take my word for it. Throw an elegant S'mores party in Washington, DC, for example, and what have you got? Obama, Clinton, and Zoellick by themselves in a corner, picking out the white bits.

Oh, this goes way back, to the beginning of time. Ask the historians. How often did they find Moses, Caesar, Genghis Kahn, or George Washington with a bag of Kraft’s finest?

I don’t agree that, instead of war, we should lock the world leaders in a room and let them duke it out. I say, lock all the world leaders in a room with nothing but hot chocolate and a plate of the puffy floaters. Let the weak sisters reveal themselves.

Not to brag, but I hate marshmallows, always have. And I'm so glad the measure of ultimate success has nothing to do with roast beef sandwiches and Fritos -- a sack lunch that never makes it past an 8 a.m. traffic jam on the 110 freeway.

(Your parting gift. I heard about these guys on PRI The World. Their music makes me feel all marshmallowy inside.)