Marhmallows and Distractions

Well, it's been one week since I began my one-sweet-a-day-or-add-my-name-to-Jason-Chaffetz-senate-war-chest plan. Here's the main lesson I learned this week.

Self-Control Versus The Power of a Good Distraction:
There is a study that is often told about kids being left alone in a room with a single marshmallow. They are told if they refrain from eating the marshmallow while the adult leaves the room, they will be awarded with a second marshmallow. But, if they DO eat the marshmallow while the adult is gone, no extra marshmallow.

Researchers followed the kids in the experiment years afterward and discovered the following. Children who do not eat the marshmallow, get everything they want in life. Children who DO eat the marshmallow, go to prison as adults. (I may be over simplifying a little.)

Every time I hear this experiment, I feel horrible. I think of all the times I've opened a beverage at the super market and had to give the sales clerk an empty bottle to pay for the drink I have already consumed. I then begin to wonder when I will go to prison based on my lack of self-control. I once again feel horrible.

HOWEVER... there is a follow-up to this study that many don't mention in their conference and church talks. The second time around researchers video taped the non-marshmallow-eating kids (a.k.a. the winners in life) while they were alone with the marshmallow. Some kids moved their chair away from the marshmallow, others started tracing the ceiling tiles with their fingers, while some sang songs to distract from the marshmallow's calling of "eat me."

They then show the marshmallow-eating kids (a.k.a. the future prison inmates of America) the videos of ways to distract themselves from eating the marshmallow. The kids then re-do the experiment and all win a second marshmallow. The study goes on to confirm that self-control is a learned behavior and that no one needs to go to prison.

What I learned from this study, and with sweets this week, is that the power is in finding the appropriate distraction. I too can trace ceiling tiles, sing songs to myself and move away from the dessert that is screaming to be eaten. So this week I worked on finding distractions that worked for me. Surprisingly, the one that worked well was taking photos of things I would typically have eaten, but did not. I now have a visible and growing collection of successes on my phone. With that said, I raise a toast with my Diet A&W Rootbeer to the distractions that helped me avoid the sweets below (and others).




Don't these look dreamy? I told myself I couldn't think about buying these until I had reached the string cheese isle. By then my mind had wandered off to something else important such as where the spray butter was located.

I went shopping with my mother, and I was shocked to find an entire container of orange Sixlets! The orange ones are my favorite. My mother questioned if they actually came in different flavors. Thankfully the girl at the counter confirmed that only the orange ones do so that I didn't have to buy this.

I know these may look disgusting to some, but there's a very special spot in my heart for Twinkies (and Zingers). Especially a new type with the promise of something amazing by making a slight twist on the original. I just didn't even let myself pick these up off the shelf.