Power Of Self Control

 SELF CONTROL

When you think of something that requires willpower, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? For most of us, the classic test of willpower is resisting temptation, whether the temptress is a doughnut, a cigarette, a clearance sale or a one-night stand. When people say, “I have no willpower,” what they usually mean is, “I have trouble saying no when my mouth, stomach, heart, or [fill in your anatomical part] wants to say yes.” Think of it as “I won’t” power.

But saying no is just one part of what willpower is, and what it requires. After all, “Just say no” are the three favourite words of procrastinators and couch potatoes worldwide. At times, it’s more important to say yes. All those things you put off for tomorrow (or forever)? Willpower helps you put them on today’s to-do list, even when anxiety, distractions or a reality TV show marathon threaten to talk you out of it. Think of it as “I will” power – the ability to do what you need to do, even if part of you doesn’t want to.

“I will” and “I won’t” power are the two sides of self-control, but they alone don’t constitute willpower. To say no when you need to say no, and yes when you need to say yes, you need a third power: the ability to remember what you really want. I know, you think that what you really want is the chocolate cake, the third glass of wine or the day off. But when you’re facing temptation, or flirting with procrastination, you need to remember that what you really want is to fit into your skinny jeans, get the promotion, get out of credit card debt, stay in your marriage, or stay out of jail. Otherwise, what’s going to stop you from following your immediate desires? To exert self-control, you need to find your motivation when it matters. This is “I want” power.

Willpower is about harnessing the three powers of I will, I won’t and I want to help you achieve your goals (and stay out of trouble). As we’ll see, we human beings are the fortunate recipients of brains that support all of these capacities. In fact, the development of these three powers – I will, I won’t and I want – may define what it means to be human. Before we get down to the dirty business of analyzing why we fail to use these powers, let’s begin by appreciating how lucky we are to have them. We’ll take a quick peek into the brain to see where the magic happens, and discover how we can train the brain to have more willpower. We’ll also take our first look at why willpower can be hard to find, and how to use another uniquely human trait – self-awareness – to avoid willpower failure.

7 Tips To Increase Your Self Control: Your body muscle will grow when you lift weights and trian it with more weights .Likewise your selfcontrol muscle is also to be trained to increase your self control. Below are the 10 steps to increase your self control.

1.Start Small 

Many People think, having self control means stopping bad habits or taking charge of bad habits immediately,which is completely wrong.When you stop anything suddenly your craving becomes more which leads to failure in the process.The first step is to take little steps on the road.Practise self control with 10 minutes a day and increase gradually.Like weights You need to increase gradually.

For example,If you are a mobile addict, start controlling yourself by not checking your phone whenever you listen notification sound.Start small by not checking your smartphone after notification sound for 5 min and increase the time gradually.This implies to other addictions too.Just start small.You can breathe in and out till the craving is subdued.

2.Make It Consistent

Keep your self control as a challenge for a period of time.Let us think 45days is the period of challenge you kept.Make the tasks consistent by reminding yourself everyday.You need to increse the pace of the tasks gradually similar to the weights.Let us take the same mobile addict example,If you have kept 5 minute self control for today,Increase it for 1 minute tomorrow not more than that.These small little steps makes more by the end of the challenge.Remind everyday and  increase the pace.

3.Meditation

This suggestion can come in handy if you are trying to quit smoking or curb your eating habits. If you have a cigarette or food craving, instead of immediately giving in to the craving, set your phone timer for five minutes, and focus on breathing from your belly. Remind yourself that a craving is just that, a craving, it is not a necessity. Take the five minutes of breathing to imagine the craving slowly disappearing every time you exhale. Take note of how you feel and if you still want to engage in eating impulsively or giving in to that cigarette.

Try closing your eyes and breathing in slowly through your nose. Continue filling your lungs, fully expanding your chest and lower belly. Finally, breathe out slowly and naturally—your mouth or nose is fine.

Studies revelaed that daily meditation increases selfcontrol and wiillpower. If you are not frequent meditator start small,start with 1 min today and increase the pace until it becomes a habit. Mediations also have other benefits on brain and life.You will start experience the benefits once your start meditation.

4.Find a healthy distraction

You’ll find it harder to avoid the urge if you simply sit and fixate on it. Instead, recognize the urge and actively try to distract yourself with something else. This can help distract your mind from the urge or craving and give you the space to truly decide if you want to act on that urge.

Sometimes doing something with your hands is helpful, such as crocheting, knitting, folding origami, or even texting a friend.

5.Remove Temptation

We are not wired to consistently resist temptation, a study found that the way most people resist temptation is to remove the temptation. According to a study by the American Psychological Association, “training self-control through repeated practice does not result in generalized improvements in self-control.” So you can stop beating yourself up for not having much self-control, we're not wired for it. So if people are not wired to have self-control, how do disciplined people exist? They remove temptation, creating effortless self-control. Instead of struggling to resist temptation, remove the temptation. Set yourself up for success by managing yourself and your surroundings by removing temptations. It helps to make decisions automatic and self-reinforcing, so you can focus on priorities and decisions that matter more. 

6.Prioritize Things

Make a to do list for every day, week and month, so when you're feeling overwhelmed, you know you're making progress and doing the very best you can. It makes you feel more in control, because feeling overwhelmed and like things are out of your control only leads to disorganization, stress and wasted time.

7.Motivate Yourself

Maintain clear reasons for yourself why you want to control the behavior and remind yourself of them continuously. Try to find your inner motivation and journal about it. You could also keep a list of reasons on a small piece of paper in your wallet, or program a reminder on your phone.

For example, say you’re trying to develop self-control about smoking cessation. You could write down the cost of buying cigarettes, the effects on your health, the smell, caring for your teeth, etc. Also make a list of all the positives of quitting smoking, including having more money to spend on other things, whiter teeth, breathing easier, or whatever reasons you can think of that will motivate you to quit.

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