The Power of Discipline: How to Use Self Control and Mental Toughness to Achieve Your Goals

by Daniel Walter

The 10 Minute Rule: You would assume that humans had better decision-making skills since we are far more mentally advanced than any other species. But a Harvard University study proves otherwise. The research involved giving chimpanzees and humans the same choice—to get two treats immediately or six treats in six minutes. The chimpanzees chose to wait for more treats seventy-two percent of the time, and the humans only chose to wait nineteen percent of the time. How did this happen? The problem is that the human brain is so overdeveloped that even when an answer is obvious, we overthink the decision. And because we have the ability to rationalize our behavior, we cheat ourselves out of a more favorable outcome. Humans tend to find it difficult to differentiate between a justification and an excuse. In the experiment, the humans may have convinced themselves that they deserved the treats because they were hungry and needed to satisfy their hunger, or that they weren’t too concerned about getting six treats later because they didn’t really like them anyway. Whereas the chimpanzees don’t have the ability to rationalize their decision; they act on instinct and it’s about survival of the fittest for them.