Have you ever thought about the power of self control? Imagine the benefits you would have. People would follow your lead more often. You would be able to get your point across easier. You would enjoy being with others or being alone equally as well. You would wind up getting more of what you want and less of what you don’t want. Self control includes emotional control and often they are interchangeable.
Karyn Hall, PhD wrote over at PsychCentral about possible ways to increase your power of self control
The Power of Self Control
Understanding how to maximize self-control of your emotions and behavior can decrease some of the emotional pain that emotionally sensitive people experience.
Not acting on impulse and thinking through how your actions in the short-term will affect your long term goals will decreae the suffering that you experience.
The good news is that some of the most effective strategies are everyday actions that are only surprising in terms of their effectivenss.
Ways to Strengthen Self-Control
Slowing Your Breath: Slowing your breathing to four to six breaths per minute will activate the prefrontal cortex and increase heart rate variability which helps shift the brain and body from a state of stress to self-control. When you are in stress mode, you are not able to think as clearly.
Your brain is in automatic survival mode, the need to do just what works in the moment. This is helpful in true emergencies but keeps us from seeing the big picture, our long-term goals. When the brain turns off the stress alerts, you have more access to the plan-ful behavior.
Meditation: Meditation improves attention, focus, impulse control and self awareness. Initial results can be seen within three hours and significant improvements with eleven hours of practice. McGonigal (2011) says that over time the brains of meditators have more gray matter in the prefrontal cortex as well as brain regions that are related to self-awareness. Practicing meditation over time will build your ability to stay aware and manage your impulses. Practicing mindfulness will also work.
Many people stop meditating because they are “bad” at doing it. Their minds are skipping from topic to topic. Even when your meditation practice seems distracted, you are practicing bringing your mind back to a focused goal and that makes a difference in your ability to focus and concentrate when you aren’t meditating.
Click here to read more about developing self-control
The power of self control is one of your personal powers that can make you a superhero. OK maybe not a superhero but it can change your life forever. And there are some simple things you can do to help you develop your personal power and here is to your health and your power of self control
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