It’s your ability to resolve conflicts between your short-term desires and your long-term goals.For example, successful self-control means sacrificing immediate pleasure (cookies and cakes) and choosing the delayed reward (healthy weight).

Self-control

Self Improvement

People who have high self-control aren’t missing out on enjoyment. Not being able to resist temptation and enjoying life are not the same things.They tend to eat in a healthily way, exercise more, sleep better, drink less alcohol, smoke fewer cigarettes, achieve higher grades at university, have more peaceful relationships, and are more financially secure.

Why self-control matters

Research showed that self-control is ultimately limited by our biology. We can’t exercise effortful self-control indefinitely – the brain has to do regular maintenance to remain functional.

Biological limits to self-control

People that are great at self-control don't have to make more effort. Instead, they&nbsp;avoid effortful strategies and use easier ones.In this way, they don’t tax and overwork their brains, and thus&nbsp;they are free to invest their effort into pursuing their goals, instead of fighting with themselves

Achieving great self-control

<ul><li>Thought suppression: when you consciously attempt not to think about something.&nbsp;It can have some benefits in the short term, but it takes a lot more effort than other strategies and it will make your desire even stronger in the long-run.</li><li>Resisting temptations: it when&nbsp;you’re actively inhibiting your urge to act on them.&nbsp;Because it’s one of the most effortful strategies, it’s likely to fail when applied over a longer period of time.</li></ul>

Bad self-discipline strategies

Use a ‘commitment contract’. This is a way to&nbsp;impose costs on self-control failure.For example,&nbsp;you sign a contract with a friend or a company and place a financial deposit. You only get your deposit back if you meet certain criteria after an agreed-on period of time. For instance, you need to cut down your smoking to a few cigarettes a day. If you don’t satisfy the criteria, then you lose your deposit.

Make temptation less fun

... to prevent self-control failures. Research has shown&nbsp;that people who have developed a self-image around virtuous activities are more likely to identify and resolve self-control conflicts.For these people, indulging incurs a cost to their self-image – it contradicts the beliefs they have about themselves.

Adjusting your identity

Many studies have shown that mindfulness is an effective way for boosting our self-control.Mindfulness doesn’t suppress or resist your thoughts and emotions.&nbsp;It just changes your perspective on them. You don’t judge your inner experiences (don’t evaluate whether your desires are good or bad).

Self-control and mindfulness

Distractions cause cognitive load: they fill up your working memory. As a result, there’s less space for your long-term goals.A distraction can be anything such as chatting with friends, listening to the radio or watching television.

Removing distractions

Indulge now and pay the price later? Or wait a little and reap bigger rewards in the future? Many of life's biggest challenges come down to a simple trade off. Self-control isn't easy. But it is possible to make it easier. In this guide, I've teamed up with cognitive science PhD student Jakub Jilek for ...

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