4B: Q & potential A???

After completing this week’s reading assignments several different thoughts came to my mind. A question that I developed in response to these readings is “what was different about the children that regardless of the fact that they failed the marshmallow test, they still ended up being successful?”

It turns out I am not the only one interested in knowing the answer to this question. In “DON’T-The secret of self-control ’’ by Jonah Lehrer it states “Mischel is particularly excited by the example of the substantial subset of people who failed the marshmallow task as four-year-olds but ended up becoming high-delaying adults.”. To me this demonstrates that the marshmallow test is not a definitive way of determining someone’s future success.

These kids beat the odds that were against them and managed to have an outcome like the children that had been delayed gratifiers all along. There are different things you can attribute this phenomenon to but it all depends on perspective.

If you were to examine this situation from Joachim De Posada’s perspective you would most likely argue that the reason why this set of children became successful is because they at some point developed delayed gratification. You would probably base their success on solely that concept that they had strong self-control and not consider that maybe it is possible to succeed because of other useful methods and qualities.

On the other hand, if you viewed this case from Carol Dweck’s perspective you would probably attribute these children’s success in life to their mindset. You would almost certainly propose that the reason why they still ended up successful is because they had growth mindsets and that their passion for learning and excepting challenges made them progress.

Aside from these other perspectives I believe that there isn’t just one magical quality or factor that leads to success. I think that all these people make a good point but that their ideas need to mesh together along with the other concepts that come in to play when it pertains to this controversial issue known as success. It’s not easy to accomplish but nothing is impossible once we set our minds to it which is where motivation and determination come in the picture and from there the possibilities are endless.

4A: One day it will pay off

One thing most little kids hate having to wait for is to grow up. They say they can’t wait until they’re in charge of themselves, and they constantly talk about what they’re going to be when they’re grown up. What they don’t think about are the challenges and obstacles they’ll have to face and overcome to get there. There was a period of time where I was like these children, in a rush to grow up, but I eventually came to my senses once the reality started to hit. By the time I was fifteen I already wished I could be little again and just go back to the times where everything was much simpler.

In high school most people my age would always say “ugh, I’m so sick of this school can’t wait till we’re out of this place!”, but unlike them I didn’t want it to end because I knew things were only going to become more serious and difficult once it was over. Now that I graduated high school and I am a full time matriculated college student the biggest thing I expect will be worth waiting for is my career. Some people decided to skip college and go directly into the work field but I know that by becoming educated for a better job it will pay off further down the road. My family was never financially stable and growing up I always hoped to work towards a successful career so that I could avoid those problems in my own future and stay away from the same mistakes my parents made. I’m going to have to wait and see how things turn out, so hopefully I have enough patience.

 Patience is something we Americans are criticized for not having, unfortunately there are several factors that make this suggestion appear to be true. Our society is constantly inventing shortcuts and coming out with new technology to reduce workload, effort, and waiting time. These days you barely have to leave your house for anything anymore you could check your bank account and deposit checks online, shop online, pay bills online, get food delivery, video chat, use laundry services, and endless other possibilities. We shouldn’t get into the habit of always having everything come so easily to us because it doesn’t give us the chance to build skills and experience associated with delayed gratification.

All things being considered it has been determined that the ability to delay gratification is an excellent one to obtain. We are faced with difficult decisions every day and having strong willpower is an important factor in making the right ones. In order to improve we must work towards building the essential skills as “Resistance Training for your ‘willpower’ muscles” suggests “if practice doesn't make perfect, then at least it makes progress”. If we truly want to be successful we must think ahead instead of just thinking in the spur of the moment and also put effort into our work instead of just constantly taking shortcuts.

Unless its a marshmallow then in that case you might wanna look away.

4V: Delayed Gratification

Delayed gratification is the concept of resisting the temptation of getting a reward at a given time so that you could receive an even greater recompense in the future. The key factor involved with this is patience. People often say “patience is a virtue” and that’s because if you’re able to wait for things you’ll have a more positive outlook on life and have the ability and time to think things through while also developing strategies that lead to success. It’s important to make sure that the immediate rewards outweigh the benefits of waiting when making a decision so that you don’t regret your choices later on.

One of the words I learned the meaning of this week is ambiguous. It means to have multiple purposes, meanings, or ways of being interpreted. When making statements it is important not to include ambiguity so that you can avoid miscommunication. Another word I learned that shouldn’t be used when making statements is vagueness. It means to be unclear or unspecific which can cause an argument to be weak and invaluable and should therefore be avoided when trying to explain something or prove a point.

4I.3: My misson for good nutrition

Health center

Many college students develop deficiencies and poor nutrition because they aren’t aware of the certain things they need to eat. Do you know what you should be eating?

This week on one of my walks back to my dorm I decided to stop by the Granoff Hall Student Health Center. It came to my attention that I probably haven’t been making the best of food choices. Lately, I have been mostly only eating pizza and drinking soda. Since I find myself constantly feeling tired and lethargic I decided to grab a pamphlet on nutrition to see some changes I could make. It mentioned that a good diet needs to be composed of a balance between grains/carbs, fruits/vegetables, meats/proteins, and dairy/fats. This explains why I haven’t been feeling so well, I’ve been missing some of the most important parts of a healthy diet. Some tips they had for better nutrition were to drink water instead of soda and sugary drinks, avoid fatty/fried foods, limit sodium, eat lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, make sure to get right  amount of daily carbs & protein, and plenty more. I have already switched to drinking water and started to make healthier food choices. I hope to continue making these beneficial changes to my diet. If you’re concerned with making the right nutrition choices, avoiding the freshman 15, or how to be healthier you should also look into this. 
                                                       

3A: Thoughts, thoughts, and some more thoughts

Does everything really happen for a reason? Is there ultimately a list of everything that is good and of everything that is bad? Do we even have a way of knowing which concepts are actually true?

 These are all questions that no one has definite answers to because there is no evidence or solid proof to support such theories. In return, we look for closure which causes us to fill in the missing gaps with what we believe is suitable and appropriate. ”There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so” This famous quote by Shakespeare is referring to the concept of relativism which proposes that there is no absolute truth and that everyone decides for themselves what they determine as right or wrong or essentially as good or bad. Although, I’m not sure I completely agree with this idea I do suppose that everyone chooses what they want to believe.

We all have our own opinions and beliefs. For instance I believe that God determines what is either good or bad and that the Bible informs us on what is morally correct and what is expected of mankind. However, some people might disagree and argue that they believe otherwise. People believe and label things based on what they’ve been taught or have experienced.

How a person labels or perceives things is also determined by their mindset. A person with a fixed mindset believes that intelligence is a fixed trait and that people either have it or they don’t. They also feel that intellect and intelligence cannot be gained or acquired. On the other hand, a person with a growth mindset loves to learn and they believe that through hard work, effort, and good strategies they can indeed continuously expand their intelligence.

Speaking on the subject of thinking and the mind, an important type of thought we have is motivation (what convinces us to do things). One type is called extrinsic motivation which involves an outside force. So basically when extrinsically motivated you either want to avoid some sort of trouble or punishment or you expect to receive material things or rewards. This isn’t a bad thing but as mentioned in “Motivation, the Elusive Drive” by Kevin Washburn extrinsic motivation is usually short term and not very successful when used towards bigger concepts and goals. That’s where intrinsic motivation comes in, this motivation comes from within and the reward is the self-fulfillment that you get from achieving your goals and being able to witness your own progress.

All being said it is important for us students to always engage ourselves in thought, and regularly think about the deeper meanings in the literature we come across. Although, there will always be differing opinions in our society it is vital for us to become motivated and to learn how to analyze things critically to assure that the thoughts and assumptions we make are logical.