As I hit reply I noticed this post was filed in a collection called Minutia. Interesting choice.

There is a lot to unpack in your post, and I am sure I can do it better justice down the road with something more substantive. For now a few brief thoughts. 

Emotions are temporary. I find that we have the capacity to control our emotions far more than we think we do. Sure, there are times when emotions just “happen,” and there are ways to maximize the opportunities and minimize the potential damages that may occur. 

Never make a permanent decision in a temporary mindset.

Your reference to the marshmallow experiment reminded me to use delayed gratification as a frame of reference.

For many years I ate my meals based on how I felt at that moment. I always thought, “What do I have a hankering for?” I paid no mind to the nutrition or calories. It’s all about how I felt in the moment. Gobble gobble and dessert you say? Don’t mind if I do. Anyone who has followed Project Food as Fuel knows where that got me. 

I have been getting back into meditation. It’s not easy, even doing it just ten minutes a day. I don’t experience any immediate benefits. I suppose there might be a tiny feeling of accomplishment after I do it, but that’s not why I do it.

Whether it’s food for the body or food for the mind, it’s about long-term results for me. Each day I do what I do, and perhaps one day down the road there will be that sense of accomplishment. I’m betting on the come as gambler’s like to say. 

You get rewarded in public for what you do in private.

When no one is watching, I’m the only holding myself accountable.