There is this famous experiment called the marshmallow test done by a team of psychologists headed by Walter Michel in the 1990’s.
They offered the kids a single marshmallow now or two marshmallow later if they could control their temptations for 20 minutes. They found that the children who could wait were more likely to be successful later in life. They scored better in examinations, had lower divorce rates, higher income, lower body mass index and considerably lesser behavioural problems in adulthood.
Nobody gave me the marshmallow test as a kid growing up in southern India. I was a highschooler by the time, I first heard of a pillowy sweet called the marshmallow. But I knew instantly that I would have been one of the kids to wait to get two marshmallows. Because there was an agreed upon timeline and a guaranteed reward at the end. Waiting is basically getting ready for the reward.
But once you grow up, these rewards and timelines go completely out of order. You are expected to wait without knowing if there is a reward or if it will reach you before you get too old to appreciate it. Who wants to wait decades to get two marshmallows ( insert your dream) when most of your teeth are already gone?
The things that you longed for come when you least expect them and right in the midst of a smooth sailing, life decides to throw you some curveballs. So is this post just a big rant about how life is unfair?
Partially yes but mostly no. Because it doesn’t matter, if you eat the marshmallow immediately. Nobody gets only one or two marshmallows in life. Life is a freaking marshmallow shower and it’s okay if you eat one too soon. There will be marshmallows that make you wait, marshmallows that make you happy and marshmallows that will be taken away from you. So taste one while you have it in your hand.
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