10 Most Used Self-Control Techniques
At some point in time, every person will struggle with a self-control problem, whether it be smoking, drinking, watching too much television or even sleeping too much. Note that there are much more that people struggle with. This was just to name a few.
Listed below are some of the most used self-control techniques.
1. Identify the Problem
Identifying the problem is the first step to finding a solution. Sometimes just knowing the problem isn’t enough, sometimes you need to dig deeper and find the root of the problem. If you have a smoking addiction think about why you smoke and what you can do instead.
2. Pre-Commit
To pre-commit means that before you even start you are going to commit to your program no matter what comes your way and tries to derail you.
3. Have Realistic Expectations
Day by day things will vary. Breaking a habit and forming self-control take time. If you put unrealistic expectations on yourself and you ever mess up it will be very hard to get over and start again. You have to be willing to forgive yourself and start over as many times as it takes for as long as it takes.
4. Change the Way You See Things
Bad habits can take hold at any time, but if you look at them differently it may change how you feel. An example is looking at cigarettes like cancer sticks. When you change the way you look at things you have a different feeling about them.
5. Set a Goal
Where would you like to be a year from now? Setting a goal in your mind and thinking about it frequently will greatly help when you feel like you are about to slip up. Another tip that helps is making visuals of your goal and keeping them close by you so they will constantly be reminding you.
6. Reward Yourself
Self-control is a large commitment and you are bettering yourself. Whenever you want to give up, but don’t you should give yourself a small reward. This will trigger your mind into wanting to keep pushing through even when you don’t feel like it.
7. Give Yourself Penalties
Just like giving yourself rewards you also need to give yourself a consequence whenever you mess up. Now this isn’t saying you need to feel like the worst person in the world if you do mess up, everyone makes mistakes, however, it wouldn’t be right for you not to be fair to yourself.
8. Keep a Positive Attitude
You are trying to change your life for the better. That is a huge accomplishment in itself. Instead of looking at all the negative aspects focus on the positive.
9. Confide in Someone
Find a friend or someone you can trust to talk to and keep you accountable. When it comes to ourselves we feel like we can start tomorrow or mess up today and fix it later, but when we confide in someone we will strive to do better because we don’t want to disappoint them.
10. Make Adjustments as You Go
Your life changes every day. So do you and your goals. If you set a goal ten years ago and look at it today it probably doesn’t apply very much to your life right now. So keep in mind that it’s okay to make changes whenever you need to.
Every single person in this world has some kind of self-control problem. This article addressed some of those problems and techniques that can be used to help you in your journey.
