These 6 Tips Are Actually Helping Me To Learn Some Self Control
It feels hard to control myself, when there are so many delicious, awesome things I want to consume and buy in this world, like ruby lipstick, fancy cheese, and matcha lattes.
I doubt I’m alone with that feeling. You don’t have to be an addict to be interested in finding ways to stop yourself from doing things that are bad for you… right? So rather than focusing on abstract, vague goals, it’s important to pinpoint some tools that make the notion of self-control much more doable. These are the 6 best tips I found for figuring out ways I can improve my self-control, and therefore, my life. You should try them too.
1. Call It ‘Self-Regulation’ Instead
An NPR Commentary I recently read, called “Why ‘It’s Self-Reg,’ Not Self Control That Matters For Most Kids'” really helped me reframe my thinking, which in turn, influenced my behavior. Apparently, “Self-regulation is about identifying the causes and reducing the intensity of impulses and, when necessary, having the energy to resist.” RESIST!!!
2. Don’t Go On Your Phone Before Bed
The same article talked about the effects of using your phone before bedtime.
“That sort of activity only feeds brain and body hyperactivity, and when the child eventually becomes depleted, he will crave even more arousal,” according to NPR.
3. You Gotta Meditate
Just do it. Download the Calm app, and spend 10 minutes a day focusing on breathing. The specific parts of the brain most affected by meditation are those involved with self-control skills.
4. Recognize It’s Not Your Fault
In order to improve self-regulation skills, one expert told NPR that it’s important to have empathy for yourself, by realizing that it’s bigger than you.
“Looking at five domains in a child’s life — biological, emotional, cognitive, social, and prosocial — and how they interact, we can begin,” Stuart said, “To reframe our own perceptions of what’s going on with our kids, as a starting point to help them gain greater calm and attention, and also empathy for others.”
5. Lose Some Weight
Studies show that people who are overweight are more likely to have self-control issues. Obviously. But it also has something to do with the way gaining weight affects your body.
“It has been suggested that body composition itself might somehow affect the neural systems that underlie cognition, motivation, self-control and salience processing,” Chase Figley, a researcher at the University of Manitoba told the Spectator UK.
6. And Do That By Appreciating Your Food
The outlook you take on your diet will make a difference in your ability to lose weight, and then help you learn some self control. Researchers told the Times Live that it was a good idea for dieters to try making a list of the foods they like eating, then focus on the healthiest options. Seems logical.
