The famous marshmallow experiment is a typical experiment that reveals the existence of willpower. In the 1960s and 1970s, Walter Mischel, a professor at Stanford University, conducted this experiment with more than 600 4-year-old children. At the beginning of the experiment, he placed a marshmallow in front of each child and told them that if they did not Eat the piece of candy immediately, and after a while they will be rewarded with another piece of candy. After the adults left the room, some children ate it immediately, while others held on for several minutes to finish the candy. After 15 minutes, the experimenter returned to the room and found that about one out of every three children insisted on not eating candy. In the process, he would use singing to cover his eyes or the table to distract himself. The experimenters tracked the development trajectories of these children and found that the one-third of children who could not resist eating sweets had better interpersonal relationships and academic performance when they grew up than those who did not.

In 2010, an international team also published the results of a long-term study of its own. They selected 1,000 children in New Zealand and followed them from birth to age 32. They found that children with strong willpower grew up to be healthier, less likely to suffer from obesity, and have more stable marriages. They concluded that willpower is a vital force and a key factor in success in life.

Why is willpower needed? Scientists have done a lot of research on this and found that it is mainly in response to the social environment. Research by Bomeister and others found that people's willpower is mainly used in four aspects. The first is to control thinking and keep oneself focused. The second is to control your emotions and try to get rid of those bad emotions or unpleasant thoughts. The third is to control impulses, improve your ability to resist temptation, and prevent yourself from acting rashly. The fourth is to control performance, performance and achievements and focus the main energy on the present.

In his research, Baumeister also found that willpower not only exists, but also becomes fatigued when overused like human muscles, and will be strengthened by long-term exercise.