The Marshmallow Test: The Key to Successful Investing?
Can You Wait to Win More?
The Marshmallow Experiment, conducted by psychologist Walter Mischel in the 1970s, showed that children who could resist the immediate temptation of a treat in order to get two later often led more successful and fulfilling professional and social lives. This principle applies perfectly to investing: delayed gratification is the ability to sacrifice immediate pleasure for a greater future gain.
In the stock market, this means prioritizing regular, patient investing over chasing quick profits. A University of Pennsylvania study even found that this patience is a better predictor of investment success than IQ. For example, investing €100 per month in an ETF tracking the S&P 500 guarantees a positive return in 100% of cases after 25 years, and in 96.3% of cases after 10 years, regardless of the starting point between 1912 and 2011.
But Beware of Psychological Traps!
The fear of missing out (FOMO) or making the wrong choice (FOBO) can lead to impulsive decisions or inaction. These cognitive biases are common among beginner investors and can result in selling at the worst time or accumulating positions without a clear strategy.
How to Protect Yourself?
1) Learn from the Experts: Use tools like stock screeners or follow the selections of experienced managers to avoid overtrading.
2) Automate Your Investments: Setting up automatic transfers to a diversified portfolio helps reduce the impact of emotions.
3) Set SMART Goals: Define specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound objectives to structure your strategy.
4) Keep an Investment Journal: Recording the reasons for each buy or sell helps avoid repeating mistakes and stays focused on the long term.
In Summary: Succeeding in the market is above all a matter of patience and discipline. As the saying goes, "time is your best ally."
$SPX500$FRA40$GER40$NL25$UK100... Show More
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Thu Feb 12 2026 22:38:04 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)
