Recieve a call from our psychologists in the next 30 mins to understand your treatment options better
Recieve a call from our psychologists in the next 30 mins to understand your treatment options better
26 May,2022 | Reading Time: 4 minutes
We have often heard the phrase self-control here and there. Did you know that there are definitely more psychological components to this? Self-control meaning includes the ability to be able to regulate and also alter your responses.
These are usually done to increase desirable behaviours and avoid undesirable ones. These are also essential when trying to achieve long term goals. Scientific research has shown that self-control is important for health reasons as well as general well-being.
We see this in everyday things, such as committing to eating healthy, giving up smoking, saving money bit by bit and many more such things (that require you to actually have a lot of self-control, despite them being seemingly easy things to do!)
A lack of self-control is what doesn’t allow people to fulfil their goals. This is something that can be learnt, as well as honed. This is related to academic practices of course, as well as health-related things, not to mention financial rigour.
This is important for keeping up with healthy behaviours- what you eat, when you eat it, what your exercise routine looks like, how does your sleep cycle look etc. These are all things that are directly linked with self-control benefits.
Developing a good sense of self-control at a younger age can help with a lot of problems when we grow up. There is of course a limited way in which we can self-control- there is no use in blaming ourselves if there are problems that aren’t caused by self-control (or rather lack thereof).
There are factors that are truly beyond one’s control, and there’s not much that can be done about that, so we mustn't give in to despair if these situations arrive. People do give up, and that is the point of this piece- perseverance and resilience.
Research shows that you can improve self-control for a particular activity that you want to change or a new habit that you want to get into. The idea of getting an incentive for a job well done is a good one to be considered in these cases. In some places, gyms have an incentive of cash backs the more frequently you actually come to the gym and get a workout done.
Getting the incentive should be driven by specific, short term goals relating to it. Make tempting things a goal only thing. If you want to watch a lot of reality tv, tell yourself that you only will watch it when you’re on the treadmill. Plan for the event that you’re getting ready for, and make sure that there are no problems that give you last-minute cold feet for the commitment.
Make it easy for yourself to not have to always exert self-control when it can be helped. For example, if you are someone who struggles to not eat junk food, make sure that you keep only limited amounts of junk food at home.
In essence, self-control manages your ability to be able to stick to goals, avoid negative outcomes and improve positives. This is an important skill that we need to learn or hone because it is very helpful in maintaining our long term, as well as short term goals. It is a limited resource, as are most things, but there are self-control methods to improve it over time, which will definitely help you reach your goals in the way you have intended.