Self-Control - An Important Skill of the 21st Century
- Category: Enhancing Skills Of Youth By Program “RISE” (A Finishing School Concept)
- Date 22-04-2024
Self-Control - An Important Skill of the 21st Century
With the advent of the internet and growing popularity of digital media, the students of today are constantly surrounded by technological distractions such as video games and mobile phones. Often, we see that it becomes difficult for them to resist the temptation to engage with such distractions. As a result, they postpone important tasks such as studying and homework. This ultimately leads to lower grades and poor academic performance. Hence, now more than ever it is important for students to develop self-control skills.
Self-Control is the ability to keep a check upon one’s emotions, impulses, and behaviors in order to achieve long-term goals. Also referred to as self-regulation or self-discipline, it has numerous benefits for students as they hone it over time through practice.
Here are a few key benefits of practicing self-control:
Self-Control helps in achieving your academic goals:
Being able to resist impulses and focus on studying is a very effective way of getting better grades and managing your time more efficiently. Research has shown that self-control is a more accurate predictor of good academic performance than even IQ scores.
Self-Control leads to increase in well-being:
Having high self-control predicts greater happiness and reduced stress. This is because being able to avoid temptations and finish important tasks gives us a sense of accomplishment. Additionally, those with high self-control do not have to face the emotional distress and guilt associated with postponing important tasks.
Self-Control helps your inter-personal relationships:
Having higher self-control enables you to be more careful when engaging in conversation. Hence, it makes you less likely to lash out at others when angry or emotional, leading to more harmony in relationships with others.
Self-Control is associated with higher resilience to peer pressure:
Peer-pressure may encourage us to engage in activities that are harmful to our health such as smoking and taking drugs. Having higher self-control enables students to avoid developing such habits and have the ability to break free from the habit if it has already been acquired.
Self-Control leads to an increase in self-efficacy:
Persons with higher self-control have a greater belief in their ability to achieve goals, since they have successfully been able to accomplish them in the past. Higher self-efficacy, in turn, is associated with greater academic achievement and better mental health.
Self-Control can be described as a muscle; it can be strengthened over time with adequate amount of effort and, also a change in your outlook towards work.
Here are some ways to develop self-control skills:
Learn how to manage stress:
Oftentimes, self-control fails because we fail to manage our stress well and get burnt-out by responsibilities, making it more likely that we will decide to engage in distractions over the task we are meant to be doing. Getting proper sleep and making time for relaxation are some ways to manage stress so as to have more energy for the task at hand.
Design SMART goals:
SMART is an acronym that stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely. Devising goals that are SMART makes it less likely that you will be overwhelmed by them and feel the need to postpone them.
Practice meditation:
Meditation is in itself a form of self-control that trains you to let thoughts and impulses come and go without dwelling on them. Practicing daily mediation allows you to strengthen the capacity to exercise self-control over time.
Avoid distractions:
As the common saying goes: “Out of sight, out of mind”. Hence, one very effective way of avoiding temptations is to not keep them in the same room as you. Research suggests that our mind is not designed to resist temptations easily, hence the most effective way to resist temptations is to completely avoid them for the time being.
Reward Self-Control consistently:
Another way to encourage yourself to develop higher self-control is to reward yourself with something you like whenever you successfully resist distractions. For example, treat yourself to some music you like after successfully completing an hour of studying.
However, it is important to remember that Self-Control is not about totally refraining, it’s just about finding what the right balance is for you.
There is an old saying that ‘a little bit of what you fancy does you good’ and given that it is not damaging your mental or physical health, that is almost certainly true. Denying yourself what you want is as bad as over-indulging. Hence, it is important to try and strike the right balance between over-indulgence and self-restraint.
On an ending note, one can quote the words of Lao Tzu on the importance of self-control:
“He who controls others may be powerful, but he who has mastered himself is mightier still”.