Final answer:
Individuals with strong willpower and self-discipline engage in self-regulation to pursue long-term goals, demonstrating personal perseverance and the ability to delay gratification.
Step-by-step explanation:
People with strong willpower and self-discipline are able to pursue long-term goals by effectively managing their thoughts, emotions, and behaviors in the presence of conflicting immediate desires or distractions.
This concept, closely related to self-regulation, involves the ability to delay gratification, similar to what is observed in Mischel's marshmallow test.
For instance, Bettina's decision to pass on the strawberry cupcake to maintain her training regime for a 5K race is an example of this behavior.
Individuals with high levels of grit or resilience show personal perseverance and keep striving despite challenges until they achieve their goals.