One of my favorite quotes from Aristotle goes something like, “What lies in our power to do, it lies in our power not to do.” We all love comfort, and we are fond of it. But the harsh reality is comfort will kill us and our dreams. I never prefer to be a hard worker instead of that, I choose to be an intelligent worker. But keeping yourself away from the wrong things and working towards your goal is really hard, and that’s where self-control and self-discipline come in.
Self control is an art that is hard to master, but worth to do it. In this world, which is full of temptation and distraction, only self-control will keep us going and achieve the goal that we desire. It is the best display of your strength, without control over your senses, you are a weak personality.
You have realized it many times that,
I need to stop scrolling Facebook, I should study, I really need to stop gaming,
But at the end of the day, you couldn’t stop and go on. Here, self-control will guide you to do the hard things and help you to do the tasks that you really need to do.
Realize that today, you aren’t able to control simple urges; tomorrow, you will lose yourself to bigger, devastating things capable of making your life hell.
There are actionable steps that can be implemented in everyday life to attain self-control.
Let’s dive in!
Five ways to master the art of self-control:
Step One: Start with Small steps
Everything starts with small steps. Rome wasn’t built in a day, so make sure to make small progress every day on a consistent basis. Even thought small steps don’t feel to much of a progress but it will take you to the big and hard steps in future.
Try to remove one lousy habit, like stop eating fast food for a day, then make it two days a week, and increase the number of days frequently.
Resisting yourself from lousy habits is hard, but if you do it in small parts, then it will be easier than you think.
Step two: Do It
You may have heard of the five-second rule. People should start completing a possibly unpleasant task within five seconds; otherwise, they may postpone the completion of the task. The technique thus tries to strengthen an impulse to move from thinking to action before objections prevent this.
The approach aims to bolster the inclination to transition from contemplation to execution before potential objections hinder progress.
If something is unpleasant and hard to do, the next time, start doing it, and you will find yourself successful at the end of the task.
Step three: Meditation & Mindfulness
We have to fight with ourselves every day to do something that isn’t pleasant even though it is beneficial to us. Controlling over inner urges and taking over them is the real challenge.
Meditation helps to calm our minds, and it is an exercise that also increases our mindfulness. With proper meditation and practice of mindfulness, it is easy to take control of your urges and be the controller of your life.
Mindfulness permeates every moment, be it through meditation, body scans, or simple pauses to breathe instead of hastily answering the phone. It is a daily routine for the people we know as successful.
Step four: Understand your emotion
Understanding oneself lays the cornerstone for emotional self-control, as it fosters the ability to manage emotions and impulses effectively.
An emotionally intelligent person is more powerful than we think, and that person can do tasks that we believe are hard for us to do. When we can control our emotions, we can also control ourselves.
Daily practice of emotional intelligence is the key to adequate self-control, which will help you in the long run.
Step five: Fear of Consequences
We all fear about the consequences we may face for not fulfilling our task as we should. Actually, that is the main reason we keep moving and trying to do what we should do.
Imagine yourself in a position where you are not doing well, and that happened due to the lack of skill you learned. You were scrolling social media all day in the past, and for that reason, you couldn’t use your time correctly to be where you wanted.
Always try to remember the worst-case scenario that can happen if you don’t do what you need to do. It will make you a discipline guy with so much self-control. Reminding yourself of these consequences can help you stay motivated as you work to increase your self-control.
When you lose control or feel the urge, immediately come out of the moment and think beyond it. See life beyond it: Tomorrow, the day after, next month. What matters? What are the goals? How would this affect your future?
You are not going to see instant changes, so do what you are doing, sleep well, and stay out of stress as you can.
What do you think about self-control? Is it hard to master? Let us know in the comments.
As a seasoned content writer specializing in self-development and AI tools, I draw from my past experiences to create insightful and engaging content. My work is dedicated to helping readers enhance their personal growth and leverage AI for better productivity.
