211. Self-control is one of the essential ingredients of a fulfilling life. 

212. The test presented kids with a conflict between short-term impulse and long-term reward. The marshmallow test measured whether kids had learned strategies to control their impulses. The ones who learned to do that did well in school and life. Those that hadn't found school endlessly frustrating. 

213. The kids who possessed these impulse-control abilities had usually grown up in organized homes. In their upbringing, actions had led to predictable consequences. They possessed a certain level of self-confidence, the assumption that they could succeed at what they set out to do. 

set out（+ to do something）开始，着手（做某事）

We have achieved what we set out to do

214. Kids could not resist the marshmallows often came from disorganized homes. They were less likely to see the link between actions and consequences and less likely to have learned strategies to help them master immediate temptations .

215. The ones who could wait distracted themselves from the marshmallow. They had techniques to adjust their attention. 

216. By using their imagination, they encoded their perceptions of the marshmallow differently. They distanced themselves from it and triggered different, less-impulsive models in their heads.

217. The implication of the marshmallow experiment is that self-control is not really about iron willpower mastering the hidden passions. The conscious mind simply lacks the strength and awareness to directly control unconscious processes. Instead, it's about triggering. At any moment there are many different operations running or capable of running at an unconscious level. People with self-control and self-discipline develop habits and strategies that trigger the unconscious processes that enable them to perceive the world in productive and far-seeing ways.

218. Human decision making has three basic steps. First, we perceive a situation. Second, we use the power of reason to calculate whether taking this or that action is in our long-term interest. Third, we use the power of will to execute our decision. 

219. Both reason and will are obviously important in making moral decisions and exercising self-control. But neither of these character models has proven very effective because the conscious forces of reason and will are simply not powerful enough to consistently subdue unconscious urges.

subdue 制服; 征服; 克制

210. In some cases and in the right circumstances, reason and will can resist temptation and control the impulses. But in many cases they are simply too week to impose self-discipline by themselves. 

211. Assumption: the real action involved the calculation about what to do and the willpower necessary to actually do it.

212. The first step is actually the most important one. Perceiving isn't just a transparent way of taking in. It is a thinking and skillful process. Seeing and evaluating are not two separate processes, they are linked and basically simultaneous. 

213. Some people have taught themselves to perceive more skillfully than others. The person with good character has taught herself, or been taught by those around her, to see situations in the right way .

214. Character emerges gradually out of the mysterious interplay of a million little good influences. It is very hard to build self-control alone. 

215. It also emphasizes the power of small and repetitive action to rewire the fundamental mechanisms of the brain.

216. One of the most enduring lessons of social psychology is that behavior change often precedes changes in attitude and feelings.

precede 在…之前发生或出现，先于