The Marshmallow Study tested children's ability to delay gratification by leaving them alone in a room with a marshmallow and seeing how long they could wait before eating it. Some children were able to wait longer by using strategies like imagining the marshmallow was something else, distracting themselves with other activities, or using self-talk. Regular exercise and practicing attention and observation skills through tasks like puzzles can also help increase self-control. In a later study, children who previously couldn't wait 60 seconds were able to delay eating for 15 minutes using these mental strategies to control their attention and thoughts.

1. The Marshmallow Study

2. ImaginationSome children avoided eating the marshmallow by imagining it as something else—a cloud, a table, a chef’s hat.

3. Pretend that the candy is only a picture, surrounded by an imaginary frame

4. DistractionDo other activities that makes you think, so you don’t think about the candy.

5. Self-talkHmm, just two more questions to answer, I can finish this!The messages we “speak” to ourselves in our head to influence our thinking and our actions.

6. ExerciseStudents engaged in regular physical activity score higher on self-regulation measures.

7. Breakdown complex tasksDo attention training such as looking and listening for details, and observing closely for solving complex puzzles.

8. The Lesson:The kids who hadn’t been able to wait sixty seconds could now wait fifteen minutes. “All I’ve done is given them some tips from their mental user manual,” Mischel says. “Once you realize that will power is just a matter of learning how to control your attention and thoughts, you can really begin to increase it.”