Self-development.
THE ART OF SELF CONTROL :
■Avoid temptations. The very first step toward gaining self-control is to avoid temptation in the first place. If you know that keeping unhealthy food items at your home will tempt you to dig in, stop buying unhealthy foods.
■Take small steps. Don’t push yourself or try to move too fast with your self-control plan. Start with small steps. Slow and steady wins any mental race. For instance: If you want to stop yourself from getting distracted while studying, start small by putting away your mobile phone.
■Prepare before facing a tempting situation. Pre-committing yourself before getting into a tempting situation can be beneficial in curbing the temptation. For instance: when going shopping, if you know you will be tempted to splurge, leave your credit and debit cards at home and take only a limited amount of cash with you.
■Use mental images to curb temptations. Make your temptations appear unattainable or unpleasant using mental images. The goal is to make the image so aversive that you will not act on your temptation.
■Identify the deeper need hidden behind your temptation. You might have a deeper need hidden behind an unhealthy habit or temptation. An unhealthy habit can develop without us being aware initially and then spiral out of control. Try to understand why you have this habit and be willing to acknowledge and confront it.
■Reward yourself. Rewards can be a great motivator when it comes to exercising self-control. Rewards control our behaviour by offering a positive incentive. Sometimes you have to delay gratification for a bigger reward.
■Plan ahead for lapses. When working toward any goal, it is very common to encounter setbacks. Don’t beat up on yourself if you have a setback. Make a recovery plan for when you face a setback or a lapse in self-control. when people fail to resist temptation, they tend to forget about the goal altogether. To stop that from happening, form a plan on how you will recover from the setback. For instance: Tell yourself, “The next time I fail to stick with my study schedule, I will not watch my favourite show for 2 days.” Keep your plan specific and simple.
■Be positive about your ability to overcome temptations. Remember the story of the Little Red Engine that thought 'he could.' Being optimistic about your ability to use self-control can be beneficial.
■Distract yourself. There may be periods when you are most vulnerable to temptations. Like when you are under stress. When you find it hard to control your impulses, distract yourself. Listen to music and sing aloud, or close your eyes and think about something else.
■Take a few deep breaths to relieve stress. Don’t let your struggle to exercise self-control overtake you. Controlling your impulses can be stressful, can be stressful, as your mind is involved in a constant battle with your heart. Take a few deep breaths when you find it difficult to resist your temptation or immediate desire.
■Use self-affirmations. When you find it difficult to control the urge to do something that needs not be done, encourages yourself to stick to your plan. Use self-affirmations like, “I am the master of my life,” or ”I am fully in control of myself.”
Be mindful of your language and the words you use.
■Postpone temptations for later.:You will be less tormented by a temptation if you tell yourself, “Not now. Wait until later.”Your need for improvement through self-control must out way the need or desire.
■Change your environment. Avoid places and situations that encourage a bad habit. Changing your environment can help you to curb or avoid temptations.
■Meditate. Take out time for meditation.
■Feed glucose to your brain. Self-control falls under the prefrontal cortex – the part of your brain that regulates decision-making and behaviour. To control your urges and make sound decisions, you need to take care of the prefrontal cortex.
■Eat healthily. improve your energy and self-control.
■Get proper sleep.
■Exercise regularly.
■Forgive yourself. We are the hardest on ourselves.
