【TED演讲】不要吃掉棉花糖！

中英文字幕

I'm here because I have a very important message: I think we have found the most important factor for success.

我今天来这里是要传递一个非常重要的信息：我认为我们已经发现了走向成功最重要的因素。

And it was found close to here, Stanford.

而这一成果就是在离这不远的斯坦福大学里发现的。

Psychology professor took kids that were four years old and put them in a room all by themselves.

心理学教授找来一些四岁大的幼童，把孩子自己留在一个房间里。

And he would tell the child, a four-year-old kid, "Johnny, I am going to leave you here with a marshmallow for 15 minutes.

然后他告诉四岁的孩子，“强尼，我要给你一颗棉花糖，呆上十五分钟。

If, after I come back, this marshmallow is here, you will get another one.

如果我回来的时候这颗棉花糖还在这儿，你会再得到一颗。

So you will have two."

这样你就有两颗了。”

To tell a four-year-old kid to wait 15 minutes for something that they like, is equivalent to telling us,

告诉一个四岁的小孩要等十五分钟才能享受他所喜欢的东西，就如同告诉我们大人，

"We'll bring you coffee in two hours."

“我们两小时后会给你送咖啡来。”

Exact equivalent.

这是完全一样的事。

So what happened when the professor left the room?

那么当教授离开房间时发生了什么？

As soon as the door closed... two out of three ate the marshmallow.

门一关上，三分之二的小孩把棉花糖吃了。

Five seconds, 10 seconds, 40 seconds, 50 seconds, two minutes, four minutes, eight minutes.

五秒，十秒，四十秒，五十秒，两分钟，四分钟，八分钟。

Some lasted 14-and-a-half minutes.

有些孩子坚持了十四分半。

Couldn't do it.

没办法不吃。

Could not wait.

等不了。

What's interesting is that one out of three would look at the marshmallow and go like this ... Would look at it.

有趣的是，有三分之一的小孩看着棉花糖，像这个样子……盯着它。

Put it back.

将它放回去。

They would walk around.

他们会走来走去。

They would play with their skirts and pants.

他们会玩他们的裙子或裤子。

That child already, at four, understood the most important principle for success, which is the ability to delay gratification.

这个孩子，尽管才四岁，就已经懂得成功最重要的原则，这就是推迟享受的能力。

Self-discipline: the most important factor for success.

自律，成功最重要的因素。

15 years later, 14 or 15 years later, follow-up study.

十五年后，十四到十五年后，再做后续研究。

What did they find?

他们发现了什么？

They went to look for these kids who were now 18 and 19.

研究人员找到这些已经是十八、十九岁的小孩们。

And they found that 100 percent of the children that had not eaten the marshmallow were successful.

他们发现，没有吃棉花糖的孩子百分之百都很成功。

They had good grades.

他们的成绩都很好。

They were doing wonderful.

人生发展得非常好。

They were happy.

他们都很快乐。

They had their plans.

对未来都有自己的规划。

They had good relationships with the teachers, students.

他们和老师同学关系都很好。

They were doing fine.

他们都生活得很好。

A great percentage of the kids that ate the marshmallow, they were in trouble.

而吃了棉花糖的小孩中有很大一部份，都遇到了些问题。

They did not make it to university.

他们没能上大学。

They had bad grades.

他们的成绩不佳。

Some of them dropped out.

他们中的一些人退学了。

A few were still there with bad grades.

另外一些虽然还在念书，但成绩很差。

A few had good grades.

只有少数人成绩不错。

I had a question in my mind: Would Hispanic kids react the same way as the American kids?

我当时有一个想法：西班牙语系国家的儿童跟美国儿童的反应会是相同的吗？

So I went to Colombia.

所以我去了哥伦比亚。

And I reproduced the experiment.

我重复了这个试验。

And it was very funny.

结果非常有意思。

I used four, five and six years old kids.

我找了四、五、六岁年龄不等的孩子。

And let me show you what happened.

现在我给你们看看当时的情况。

So what happened in Colombia?

那么在哥伦比亚发生了什么呢？

Hispanic kids, two out of three ate the marshmallow; one out of three did not.

这些小孩，三分之二吃了棉花糖，三分之一没有吃。

This little girl was interesting; she ate the inside of the marshmallow.

这个小女孩很有趣，她把棉花糖的芯吃了。

In other words, she wanted us to think that she had not eaten it, so she would get two.

也就是说，她希望我们以为她没有吃，这样她就可以得到两颗。

But she ate it.

但她确实吃了。

So we know she'll be successful.

所以我们知道她将会成功。

But we have to watch her.

但是必须有人监督她。

She should not go into banking, for example, or work at a cash register.

比如说，她不应该去银行业上班，或者做收银员工作。

But she will be successful.

但是她将会成功。

And this applies for everything.

这能应用到很多事情上。

Even in sales.

甚至在销售上。

The sales person that -- the customer says, "I want that."

比如一个推销员——当客户说，“我要那个。”

And the person says, "Okay, here you are."

这个推销员就说，“好的，给你。”

That person ate the marshmallow.

这个推销员当初一定吃了棉花糖。

If the sales person says, "Wait a second.

如果这个推销员说，“请等一下，

Let me ask you a few questions to see if this is a good choice."

让我问您一些问题，看看这是不是个好的选择。”

Then you sell a lot more.

那样就可以卖更多的东西。

So this has applications in all walks of life.

所以这能应用在生活的各个方面。

I end with -- the Koreans did this.

我现在收尾——讲讲韩国人的做法。

You know what?

你猜怎么着？

This is so good that we want a marshmallow book for children.

这个试验太好了，我们想要一本有关棉花糖的儿童书。

We did one for children.

我们就为儿童出了一本书。

And now it is all over Korea.

现在这本书风靡全韩国。

They are teaching these kids exactly this principle.

韩国人教给孩子们的就是这个道理。

And we need to learn that principle here in the States, because we have a big debt.

在美国我们也需要懂得这个道理，因为我们欠了一屁股的债。

We are eating more marshmallows than we are producing.

我们吃的棉花糖要比我们生产的多。

Thank you so much.

非常感谢大家。