Question: Do You Consider Self-Denial Inherently Good or Bad?

Self-Denial is undeniably a strong force in the human experience; the question is, is it a force that is good or bad? Or is it something else? What impacts does self-denial have on our experience of the world? Or could it, in fact, be what allows us to be human in the first place?

Delay in Gratification in Children by Walter Mischel, Yuichi Shoda, Monica L. Rodriguez (PDF)

Denial: Self-Deception, False Beliefs, and the Origins of the Human Mind by Ajit Varki and Danny Brower

Pando Daily: Poverty and the “Just World hypothesis” by Nathan Pensky

RationalWiki: Just world hypothesis

Give It Up, A Strategy for Combating Hedonic Adaptation by Jordi Ouoidbach and Elizabeth W. Dunn

XO Jane: My Body Is Wildly Undiciplined And I Deny Myself Nearly Everything I Desire by Roxane Gay

Running Head: Self Regulation and Choice by Kathleen D. Vohs, Roy F. Baumeister, Jean M. Twenge, Brandon J. Schmeichel, Dianne M. Tice, and Jennifer Crocker (PDF)

Inhibitory Spillover: Increased Urination Urgency Facilitates Impulse Control in Unrelated Domains by Mirjam A. Tuk, Debra Trampe, and Luk Warlop

Time Ideas Blog: Lent and the Science of Self-Denial by Jeffrey Kluger

Hilariously awesome video of a Stanford Marshmallow Experiment re-creation:

All music in this episode by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)