The Benefits of Self-Control
Self-control comes under many different terms including discipline, determination, grit, willpower and fortitude, but they are all roughly the same thing. So, what is self-control? Psychologists usually label it as ‘the ability to control behaviours in order to avoid temptations and to achieve goals’. In terms of importance, self-control is critical in order to help achieve specific goals as it forces us to make decisions that will determine the outcome of that goal. For example, if you want to go to a football game, and the ticket costs £150, you might work a lot so you can afford it, however someone suggests that you should go away for the weekend instead of to the game, watch it on TV, having the self-control to look at what the money was initially earned for, and denying that earlier perhaps impulsive reward can improve your self-control. This is known as delaying gratification. This is just one way in which self-control can be improved, as it forces you to take into account the bigger picture, and not succumb to the easier choice presented to you, rather than taking the choice that you sooo wanted to take in the first place. Try to bring an argument of common sense into your internal desires.
Self-control isn’t just about achieving your tasks either, it also offers numerous health benefits as well. With better self-control there is less need for addiction. Researchers have found that people who showed greater levels of self-control during childhood were less likely to have, heart attacks, gum disease, airflow obstruction and metabolic disruptions.
Besides health benefits, having good self-control can also lead to a more successful and satisfying academic and professional career. Good self-control means you do the work that was set for you, or you set for yourself to accomplish, and you do it to the highest standard you possibly can. You don’t take the easy way out, and try to shortcut your way to the finish line that really on cheats yourself… Not only can it hinder your academic abilities, it can also damage you reputation, and repeat offenders can potentially get into trouble for not doing what they were set out to do.
Now you know why focus and self-control are so important to everyday life, you now have to be the ones to implement it and make sure that the work that you do is the best it possibly can be, and the way you’ll do that is with focus and self-control.