A well-developed self-control isn’t just the ability not to say all that comes to our mind to our boss, but it’s also about restraining from unhealthy habits that often include sweets, cigarettes, and alcohol. These are, as we all know, famous for their negative impact both on our physical and mental health. Many individuals, however, often feel like their self-control is not something that they exactly can be proud of because they usually succumb to temptations. Still, the great news is that self-control can be significantly improved by performing certain techniques and exercises on a regular basis. So, if you’re interested to find out what can actually help you, forget about browsing celebrity Snapchats for a while and take a look at the following paragraphs instead.
Self-Control and Going to Gym
Psychologists Megan Oaten and Ken Cheng decided to do the research regarding the whole exercise – self-control relation. The first thing they did was to provide a free gym membership to all participants in the experiment as well as individual training programs that were tailored by professional gym instructors and in accordance with participants’ unique needs. The results were pretty amazing as it turns out that not only did they performed better with a variety of test the psychologists gave them after introducing the exercise to their daily routines, but they also reported the significant improvement in various other areas of their lives – they smoked less, they ate healthier, they drank less alcohol and they were less likely to act impulsively.
Quick Results
The participants themselves also noticed they were calmer and less prone to any form of procrastination. What’s also amazing about this experiment is that lasted only for two months, meaning that it’s entirely possible to make significant improvements sooner than expected. On the other hand, this proves the assumption that every aspect of life that includes some sort of a self-control (and there are many) can be improved by regularly exercising.
Other ways
There are some other sorts of mental exercises that can also be helpful for developing self-control and these are often integral parts of various behavioral therapies that have to be done only by licensed psychotherapists. According to the New York Times, those have only been used to treat people with higher levels of impulsiveness though.
In Conclusion
Exercising does make us feel better, and it’s a fact that we’ve all been familiar with for quite some time. Still, exercising is also directly related to building a stronger self-control, which is, as it turns out, essential for surviving the 21st century where stress levels are basically skyrocketing. Having this in mind, the easiest thing to do is reach for a smoke, a beer or a slice of cake because many people see these as instant cures for their troubles. And while it’s completely okay to do this on certain occasions, the lack of self-control can have some really bad consequences in the long-run. This is why it’s important to exercise the self-control, both physically and mentally by introducing the series of healthy habits that will slowly but surely become the part of our daily routine. Yes, it’s hard and yes – it takes some time, but the benefits are numerous, we promise.
About the author:
Stefan is a writer and a blogger in his spare time. He also works for First Beat Media, a company that mainly focuses on the online dating niche and similar services.
