This one silly trait determines whether you do well in school

We all want we would all like to succeed in life, yes, we are that simple. And so we cram ourselves into a stupor just to rake in those passing grades.
But actually, your success in school, during your studies, or even in your career is not determined by your motivation at all. $^22$@%%, there you are, with your good behavior. Wanting and being able; it is very not important. Neither is your intelligence. Bye bye, IQ tests. Those who want success during their school and study time and in their working life better focus on one thing and the magic word is: self-control. What?
Psychologist René Diekstra knows all about this and he points out that this very trait determines how you can steer yourself in life. It determines your feelings and your behavior and also whether you are easily distracted or not. Those with self-control can stay focused on their goals, even when the tempting yummy goal (read: a nice salary and a cool job) is still far away. Those who constantly remind themselves of their long-term goals know: it is worth it. To sweat and cry now.
At this moment, maybe some silly little project is not too exciting and you could strangle that whole university sometimes. But if you persevere, you will soon have a piece of paper in your pocket and much more chance of a nice job. Girls with self-control can keep their emotions in check and therefore strangle no one, but focus on what they all want to do in their lives.

The most famous example of testing self-control from psychology is a very funny one: the marshmallow experiment. Children were placed in a boring room and presented with a marshmallow. They had nothing else to do; there were no toys and they were alone. Boring, indeed. The kids could choose: either wait 20 minutes until the researcher returned and then get two marshmallows (OMG, that's a big deal) or eat this one now. But then they would only get one.

In short: patience was put to the test. The cute thing about the footage from the study is that many of the kids were just sneaking bites of the candy in the hope that the researcher wouldn't see them.

But besides being cute, the experiment also says a lot. Namely, that children who can control themselves at a young age are more successful later in life, have better careers, and even their mental and physical health is better. So take a nice count to 4 today. Go for it, girls. And stay away from those marshmallows.

FACTS

Here you go: this is how you can teach yourself some self-control:

- In every situation you find difficult, ask yourself: ‘Will this matter to me in 5 years?’. The chances are it won't. And that immediately reduces your stress.

– Always think about the consequences, even in the long term. Quitting school now sounds great, but what will you do in 5 years? Canceling that sports class now is nice, but what size pants will you fit into in 5 years?
– Always see everything in the big perspective. Put it into perspective. Does that one test that didn't go so well really matter now? Is that a reason to quit the subject? Think about who you are and who you want to be.

There. Zen.

Written by: Tessa Heinhuis