Don't eat the marshmallow.

In a study at Stanford University conducted over 25 years ago, a class of 5-year-olds was given a marshmallow and told not to eat it for 5 minutes, and only then would they be given a second marshmallow. The teacher then left and observed the class. 90% of the kids ate the marshmallow right away. (The rest licked it or ate the inside!) The kids were then followed for the next 25 years. Those who were able to delay the instant gratification and wait were off-the-charts more successful in every area of their life. What's the lesson? Good things come to those who wait. Many students graduate and feel such pressure to be the next Steve Jobs, the next Anderson Cooper, or superstar designer. It's fine if it takes you a little while to find the job you want. We all overestimate how quickly things are going to happen in a month or so and often give up or settle. And we all underestimate how different our lives can be in 6-9 months. Give yourself a longer runway.

I've heard this story before, but I don't remember where. How many people , especially teachers, can relate to this story. I offer many rewards in my classroom with our Renaissance Program. For example, students can get raffle tickets to earn a chance to earn prizes than include pens/pencils, games, homework pass, and other misc. stuff to just a homework pass. Many students choose to get the homework pass instead of waiting and taking a chance on a winning ticket. Now I understand that there is a chance that students may not earn the prize with the ticket and thus some students may not think it's worth the risk, but isn't that the whole point? Students tend to go the route of instant gratification.

What Chain-Food Favorites Cost in Exercise

What Chain-Food Favorites Cost in Exercise
Posted Mon, Jun 01, 2009

My "two scoops won't hurt and neither will these french fries" approach to eating doesn't lend itself well to swimsuit season. Although the beach treks may have begun, there is time to make change. So, let me have it. What's that ice cream going to cost me in workout minutes? To tell us is Charles Stuart Platkin, also known as the Diet Detective. He is the author of five books and and host of WE TV's I Want To Save Your Life. Here is his report on what some of our chain-food favorites should cost us in time spent doing common exercises...

Note: Calorie content of foods are based on official website information at the time of publication. Minutes of exercise are averages based on a 155-pound person. The greater the weight of the person the more calories burned per minute.

DONUT
Dunkin Donuts Chocolate Frosted Donut (230 calories)
59 minutes of walking (3 mph).

BREAKFAST SANDWICH
McDonald's Egg McMuffin (300 calories)
32 minutes of running (5 mph).

CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE
Panera Chocolate Chipper (440 calories)
62 minutes of biking (10-11.9 mph).

PIZZA
Pizza Hut Large Hand-Tossed Style Cheese Pizza (1 slice; 320 calories)
39 minutes of swimming (slow to moderate laps).

CINNAMON ROLL
Starbucks Cinnamon Roll (500 calories, varies by location)
85 minutes of dancing.

HAMBURGER
Burger King Original Whopper With Cheese (770 calories)
94 minutes of swimming (slow to moderate laps).

BROWNIE
Au Bon Pain Chocolate Chip Brownie (380 calories).
129 minutes of yoga (Hatha style).

FRIES
Wendy's Large French Fries (540 calories)
77 minutes of biking (10-11.9 mph).

ICE CREAM
Häagen-Dazs Vanilla Ice Cream (0.5 cup; 270 calories)
29 minutes of running (5 mph).

BURRITO
Taco Bell Burrito Supreme, Beef (410 calories)
70 minutes of dancing.

Patience and Power

"When it comes to getting through change, never underestimate the power of patience. Faced with an uncomfortable change, our first instinct is to hurry up and get through it. We don’t want to feel the uncertainty, the fear, the sadness or any other negative emotions that might arise. But rushing through a change prevents the process from unfolding naturally.

Resist the urge to speed through a transition, searching for a fast fix. Be still, live in the change as it plays out and allow things to develop in the way they need to. Or, from a more spiritual perspective, allow the universe to do its work.

Expectations are what create pain and uncomfortableness. Drop what you expect to happen, how it should happen, and by when. Life is constantly rearranging itself, so today it's OK if you don't have all the to your change puzzle."© 2009 The First Thirty Days, Inc. All Rights Reserved |

This article is sooo me. When something doesn't go right, I am always trying to fix it immediately and a fixate on the situation, going over and over it in my head. I have to keep reminding myself to trust in God and that life happens and to let things settle down to see what new path I should take. I know their is a purpose for things happening in life, it's just hard sometimes waiting to see what that purpose is.

You Might Be An Educator If You...

Jeff Foxworthy on Educators

YOU might be a school employee if you believe the playground should be equipped with a Ritalin salt lick.

YOU might be a school employee if you want to slap the next person who says, "must be nice to work 8 to 3:30 and have summers off."

YOU might be a school employee if it is difficult to name your own child because there's no name you can come up with that doesn't bring high blood pressure as it is uttered.

YOU might be a school employee if you can tell it's a full moon or if it's going to rain, snow, hail... anything!!! Without ever looking outside.

YOU might be a school employee if you believe, "shallow gene pool" should have its own box on a report card.

YOU might be a school employee if you believe that unspeakable evils will befall you if anyone says, "Boy, the kids sure are mellow today."

YOU might be a school employee if when out in public, you feel the urge to snap your fingers at children you do not know and correct their behavior.

YOU might be a school employee if you have no social life between August and June.

YOU might be a school employee if you think people should have a government permit before being allowed to reproduce.

YOU might be a school employee if you wonder how some parents MANAGED to reproduce.

YOU might be a school employee if you laugh uncontrollably when people refer to the staff room as the "lounge".

YOU might be a school employee if you encourage an obnoxious parent to check into charter schools or home schooling and are willing to donate the UHAUL boxes should they decide to move out of district.

YOU might be a school employee if you think caffeine should be available in intravenous form.

YOU might be a school employee if you can't imagine how the ACLU could think that covering your student's chair with Velcro and then requiring uniforms made out of the corresponding Velcro could ever be misunderstood by the public.

YOU might be a school employee if meeting a child's parent instantly answers this question, "Why is this kid like this?"

YOU might be a school employee if you would choose a mammogram over a parent conference.

YOU might be a school employee if you think someone should invent antibacterial pencils and crayons... and desks and chairs for that matter!

YOU might be a school employee if the words "I have college debt for this?" has ever come out of you mouth.

YOU might be a school employee if you know how many days, minutes, and seconds are left in the school year!!!