The marshmallow test

My father had an expression: "if you can stand tippy-toe longer than anyone else you'll be successful!" What did he mean?

He was talking about self-discipline and perseverance in an imagined competition where the one who stands tippy-toe the longest wins. This advice seems a bit out of date (my father is 97).

But it correlates with the ancient Greek philosophy of stoicism and a bunch of recent research around the psychology of motivation and the benefits of delayed gratification - like the famous Stanford marshmallow experiment.

You see, we've all become a little bit impetuous and entitled. We don't want to miss out. "I want that [thing] and I need it now! "

It appears that pacing our desires (even saving up for them) and creating some distance between desiring and acquiring is good for our mental health. It represents a degree of character strength and moral virtue.