There is a psychology test called The Marshamallow Test. This measures how well children can delay gratification. Children around the age of four are given a marshmallow. They are told that if they can wait twenty minutes they will get two marshmallows instead of one. The study looks at temptation and gratification. Those who wait the twenty minutes are said to be able to delay gratification better than those who eat the marshmallow before the time is up. The findings suggest that those who are able to wait the five minutes and delay gratification end up doing better in school, form longer lasting friendships, and overall more successful in life.
As a human race, we all find waiting hard.We wait in line. We wait for the mail. We wait for vacation. These are short-term waits. Most of us just grow impatient and afterwards complain about the elderly lady who paid for her purchase all in pennies. However, we wait eighteen years to be an adult. We wait sixteen years to finish school and get a degree to work. We wait to have a family. We wait so long we never think it is going to arrive. Knowing that something you want is close and only one this stands between you and your goal is so irking. You just want to skip the steps and go directly to the goal. You think that skipping over these steps can't make that much of a difference, right? Imagine skipping over childhood. You wouldn't know how to function in society. Or going right into the workforce. You'd have no skills. So, as impatient as waiting for something is, all the steps need to be completed and are necessary in reaching your goal.
Right now I am waiting to go to Israel. I am trying to be patient and wait for all the right documents to come in, but it is hard. I just want to fly there myself, literally. Use my two arms to fly over there now. Swim across the cold Atlantic and be there. But instead of wasting that amount of time and money, I am waiting. Patiently. But patience wears low. For trying to not think about Israel only makes me think about it more.
Like the White Bear experiment The more you are told not think about something, the more likely you are to have it stuck in your head. Ever hear of "The Game" ? The loser is the one who thinks of The Game first and thus loses for thinking about it.
