Feb 26, 2011
Feb 13, 2011
Gadget Rich, Money Poor
Let me share an experiment for delayed gratification or THE MARSHMALLOW TEST.
The original "marshmallow test" was conducted by Stanford psychology professor Walter Mischel 40 years ago. The test was meant to measure which children could delay gratification. Follow up studies showed that children who could postpone eating a marshmallow at age 4 outpaced their peers in many areas when they were 18 years old: They scored 210 points higher in the SAT and had higher confidence, concentration, and reliability. This simple test proved to be twice as predictive of later SAT scores as IQ tests.
How does this relate to being Gadget Rich and Money Poor?
The gadgets are the marshmallows. The reason for the lack of money is because of a lack of delayed gratification. Delayed gratification means postponing happiness in the short run for the bigger benefit in the long run.
The ones who have lots of gadgets and yet little money have failed the "Marshmallow Test for Adults".
And this doesn't just apply to gadgets, but also, vacations, parties, new clothes, new cars, bigger houses etc.
Put simply some people spend now because it feels good to have new stuff - even disregarding future effects.
Imagine if this pattern of being Gadget Rich and Money Poor continues till that person retires. His life would amount to a big pile of gadgets.
What's the solution? Start building your mindset!
The first thing to build is a good mindset. This process will give discipline to practice delayed gratification among other things. Our mind is our biggest asset and our greatest investment. The way we think can unlock great opportunities for us to be great and for us to have great lives.
Eventually, you can be Money Rich and you can buy all the gadgets that you want. :) Why have SOME now when you can have it ALL later?
*Article originally came from Japo Domingo
The original "marshmallow test" was conducted by Stanford psychology professor Walter Mischel 40 years ago. The test was meant to measure which children could delay gratification. Follow up studies showed that children who could postpone eating a marshmallow at age 4 outpaced their peers in many areas when they were 18 years old: They scored 210 points higher in the SAT and had higher confidence, concentration, and reliability. This simple test proved to be twice as predictive of later SAT scores as IQ tests.
How does this relate to being Gadget Rich and Money Poor?
The gadgets are the marshmallows. The reason for the lack of money is because of a lack of delayed gratification. Delayed gratification means postponing happiness in the short run for the bigger benefit in the long run.
The ones who have lots of gadgets and yet little money have failed the "Marshmallow Test for Adults".
And this doesn't just apply to gadgets, but also, vacations, parties, new clothes, new cars, bigger houses etc.
Put simply some people spend now because it feels good to have new stuff - even disregarding future effects.
Imagine if this pattern of being Gadget Rich and Money Poor continues till that person retires. His life would amount to a big pile of gadgets.
What's the solution? Start building your mindset!
The first thing to build is a good mindset. This process will give discipline to practice delayed gratification among other things. Our mind is our biggest asset and our greatest investment. The way we think can unlock great opportunities for us to be great and for us to have great lives.
Eventually, you can be Money Rich and you can buy all the gadgets that you want. :) Why have SOME now when you can have it ALL later?
*Article originally came from Japo Domingo
Feb 14, 2010
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