Learn more about habits with this collection
How to set achievable goals
How to prioritize self-care
How to create healthy habits
You may wonder now - if self-control is exhausting, why do some people seem to have an iron will?
The main takeaway from research is 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.
The reason why some people are good at self-control nonetheless is not because they make more effort . Instead, these people avoid effortful strategies (such as suppression and resistance) and use easier strategies (such as re-appraisal). Instead of effortfully inhibiting their automatic drives, they bypass them. In this way, they don't tax their brains, which then don't have to do housekeeping so quickly. As a result, they are free to invest their effort into pursuing their goals, instead of fighting with themselves., , , ,
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MORE IDEAS ON THIS
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In general, temptation bundling, self-rewarding and commitment contracts are a kind of 'trick' you play on yourself - you sweeten the goal-promoting activity with a few perks (or you punish yourself for failure), but the core activity remains as unpleasant as ever. Although these techniques may w...
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You can easily apply high-level construal to all important decisions in your life. Are you deciding whether to work on your career skills or go to the pub? Ask yourself why you need better career skills. Is the answer 'to get promoted and reach a higher salary'? Then ask yourself why you want to ...
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On the other hand, you can also bracket this choice broadly - instead of eating a single chocolate bar, you're considering the rule of eating like this all the time. If you ate a chocolate bar like this every time you're at the checkout counter, you'll quickly be overweight. Now, your epsilon cos...
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James Clear, author of Atomic Habits , has a useful way of framing these issues of identity, "Every action you take is a vote for the kind of person you wish to become."
Do you want to take up running? Start thinking of yourself as a runne...
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This study shows that it's much better to bolster your want-to rather than have-to motivations. If you only have have-to motivations, then you'll experience self-control conflict. You'll know you should choose the option with the delayed reward, but you'll want the option with the immediate rewar...
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One of the ways you can self-affirm is by taking this online test . The test is free and takes about 15 minutes. In the test you'll answer a series of questions designed to assess your core strengths. The test result will provide y...
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Other curated ideas on this topic:
People that are great at self-control don't have to make more effort. Instead, theyΒ avoid effortful strategies and use easier ones.
In this way, they donβt tax and overwork their brains, and thusΒ they are free to invest their effort into pursuing their goals, instead of fighting with...
The feeling of effort is a sensation of opportunity costs. When youβre doing anything, and an alternative activity promises to be easier and more immediately rewarding, the activity feels effortful.
This explains why people could spend all their time reading in earlier ...
Most successful people do feel good luck played some role in their success. But they don't wait for it or worry about bad luck. They act as if success or failure is totally within their control.
By not wasting mental energy worrying about what migh...
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