The Marshmallow Test
[…] This simple test of willpower ended up being a powerful indicator of the child’s future success. In a follow up, the children who were able to wait for the second marshmallow were shown to have higher grades and better SAT scores. What’s this mean for us? First, thankfully, dozens of people have reenacted the test on YouTube. More importantly, willpower is vital to our success, but we have a limited supply so use yours on stuff that matters.
The 10,000 Hours Rule
[T]his 1993 study by Florida State Researcher Dr. K. Anders Ericsson suggested that to truly master our craft we need to spend 10,000 hours practicing.
And not just any practice, deliberate practice. Top performers select the difficult aspects of their work and repeat them endlessly until they are ingrained as habit. […]
The Grit Scale Indicator
Angela Duckworth of the University of Pennsylvania and Christopher Peterson of the University of Michigan took the Stanford Marshmallow test to the next level. In 2007, they developed a test that would measure a person’s “grit,” that is, an unassailable desire to see a goal or project through to the end. The test asked participants to read questions like “I have achieved a goal that took years of work” and rate its truthfulness on a five point scale.
Those who were shown to have more “grit” outperformed their less gritty peers. High grit scores correlated to higher GPAs, spelling bee winners, and West Point graduates.
The study touched off an entirely new school of thought in education that believes a high I.Q. isn’t a predictor of success. And the good news is, as adults it’s never too late to increase our grit.