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| Walter Mischel |
It is said good ideas are
a dime a dozen. But they are not worth a broken nickel until you implement
them. We may have the knowledge of all the libraries of the world in our hand.
But if we don’t utilise it, that knowledge really no help to us. So, the gap
between knowledge and its implementation is bridged by one word called ‘discipline’.
In the 1950s, a
researcher in Stanford called Walter Mischel did an experiment to study the self-control
of four-year-old toddlers. His experiment was ingenious. He would leave the
child in a room by itself with a sweet in front. Having told the child, “If you
like, you can enjoy this sweet, but if you hold on for 20 minutes, I will come
back, take this away and give you two sweets instead.” For some of them it was
a no-brainer. There is a sweet, it is the source of pleasure, there is nothing
to think about, eat it. Some children held on for two minutes, but then
succumbed and ate it. Some children held on for seven to eight minutes. And
some children continued holding on for the full 20 minutes and were rewarded
with two sweets.
Many years later, the
study was continued to find out how the children had been performing in life.
Some very interesting facts came out. It was discovered that the children with
maximum self-control, they were excelling in studies as well. They had better
physique, they were not plump, they were better at interpersonal relationships
because they could control their emotions and their moods. They were having a
less disrupted marriages or lost jobs, and practically no criminal conviction.
On the other hand, the
children who were at the lowest end of the spectrum, without self-control, had
been getting into all kinds of problems. They were dropping out of their
college, they were losing jobs, they were having broken marriages, and many of
them had repeatedly visited the prison as well.
This led to the
interesting observation that one important factor that correlates to success in
every field of human endeavour is self-control, discipline based on the virtue
of willpower.
Social researchers
further analysed this and they discovered that proficiency in any field of
human activity is directly correlated to two virtues of the personality—(i)
intellect and (ii) willpower. Intellect is somewhat innate, there is no such
one can do to expand it. But willpower is something that is very much in our
hands. And this is also the attribute that is maximum tested in modern times.
Because our ancestors, a few centuries ago, didn’t have as many willpower tests
as we do. Today, you may be working in your office on the dreary task of
preparing the memo for your boss, but at the mere click of a mouse, you can
take your mind away to surf the internet. So, in the days of social media,
internet, video games and television channels, the challenges to willpower have
multiplied greatly.
Now, as grown-ups what
can we do to enhance our willpower? Fortunately for us, willpower too grows
with exercise, like the muscles do. For example, if you engage in typing, the
portions of the brain required for typing keep on adding the grey matter.
Similarly, this willpower comes from the prefrontal cortex of the brain, and
the more you exercise it, the more it develops. Thus, willpower too can be
enhanced with exercise, and the best exercise for enhancement of our
self-control is meditation. Meditation entails avoiding distracting thoughts
though they may be pleasurable, keeping our focus on the object of meditation,
though it may be painful.
Studies have revealed
that in a three-hour meditation session the functioning of the brain changes
and in 11 hours of meditation the brain activity transforms completely. So,
utilise this tool and grow in your self-control and willpower to increase your
proficiency in all fields of human activity.
If you are not already
meditating, let today be the day when you launch yourself on this wonderful
journey.
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