Anticipating Lunch

Having three long lectures back to back on a Thursday is pretty trying, especially after a late Wednesday night out. Today, however, I did not think I would make it through. On top of my usual tiredness, I was completely consumed by hunger. I skipped braekfast, and throughout the day, I so badly wanted to run out of class to find any form of sustenance. Earlier this week, however, my friends and I planned to have a late lunch today after class, so I decided to hold out on eating until then. With every minute that passed, my anticipation of lunch intensified while the temptation for instant gratification became harder to suppress. Finally reaching the end of class, having barely made it through the day, I nearly ran to the restaurant. I happily ordered a three course meal and savored my big reward over a full hour and a half. My waiting for lunch infinitely enhanced the flavor and satisfaction of my every bite. And I even have enough left over for dinner! I guess good things do come to those who wait. :)

In all honesty, besides wanting to have lunch with my friends, waiting for lunch was a test for myself. In middle school, I had watched an episode of Oprah that focused on the topic of E.Q., Emotional Quotient. This is similar to the concept of I.Q. except it measures self-control and other personality aspects. According to the show, one of the E.Q. studies performed involved testing 4-year-old children's patience. There would initally be an adult, a child, and a bag of marshmallows in a room. The adult would instruct the child that he (or she) could eat all the marshmallows in the bag if he waited until the adult returned. I think each child was alone in the room for 10 minutes or so. Some ate the marshmallows while the adult was gone; others actually waited. The children were then restudied on the basis of E.Q. some 10 years later. Most children who ate the marshmallows only when the adult returned were apparently much better adjusted in life and received high E.Q. scores relative to those who could not wait. Ever since then, I've always been setting small goals of delayed satisfaction and testing myself to see how often I can actually accomplish what I set out to do. I am proud to say that I achieve my goals more often than not. I like to think that I am pretty well adjusted and have a high E.Q. score. This all may sound silly to those of you who know me, however, and who can probably attest to the exact opposite of my self-assessed, and likely bogus, E.Q. :)