Discover the significant impact of self-control on well-being and learn how cultivating this skill can lead to a happier and more fulfilling life.
Self-control is our ability to control our natural impulses and direct our efforts in a way that will help us achieve our desired goals. Lack of self-control is a major cause of personal and social problems. Moreover, psychological studies have shown that better self-control leads to a happier life.
How Self-Control Increases Well-being in Life
Self-control is like a muscle; the more we practice it, the stronger it becomes. This means that developing self-control in one area of our lives can help us build strength in other areas. At the same time, self-control requires energy, just like physical exercise; if we overdo it, we can easily injure ourselves.
If self-control is not our strength, we must use a gradual approach at the beginning. For example, when setting any goal, we must set a goal that we hope to achieve, but do not set it too high that it is impossible to achieve. Such pressure will only discourage ourselves. Setting small steps that will lead us to the final goal is very important. The key to self-control is to create a new habit, which will become part of our daily routine. After a period of time, we will no longer need so much self-control, like brushing our teeth every morning and before bed. It becomes something that we just do.
One tip for improving self-control is to create a more disciplined environment. We may be able to resist a temptation once or twice, but it is unlikely that we will be able to muster up the will to overcome the urge every time. The way to break a bad habit is to cut it at the source, by reducing our exposure to the temptations that lead to the behavior.
By redesigning our environment, we can take back control. The idea is to modify the space we live and work in by increasing exposure to positive urges and making them visible so they are easier to act on, while decreasing exposure to negative urges and making them invisible. For example, if we want to drink more water, we can place water bottles in several convenient and visible places in our home. If we want to give up sweets, we can keep them out of sight.
People naturally tend to focus on the negative more than the positive, so self-awareness and self-control are essential, such as managing time, spending, taking care of health, developing work skills, etc.