Character Strength: Self-Control

As we start the new year setting goals and working towards reaching them, we apply the strength of self-control (self-regulation) engaging our willpower. A great deal of research is in place regarding setting goals and building habits. This topic will be covered in future posts. In the meantime, the American Psychological Association has a full article citing many research studies to help us as we work to strengthen our self-control.

The article is really worth your time to review but here are the main takeaways.

• Willpower is the ability to resist short-term gratification in pursuit of long-term goals or objectives.
• Willpower is correlated with positive life outcomes such as better grades, higher self-esteem, lower substance abuse rates, greater financial security and improved physical and mental health.
• When willpower fails, exposure to an emotionally charged stimulus overrides one’s rational, cognitive system, leading to impulsive actions.
• One’s capacity for self-control appears to be persistent. Children with better self-control as preschoolers tend to have better self-control as adults.
• Individuals with low self-control show differing brain patterns when presented with tempting stimuli.
• Willpower can be compared to a muscle that becomes fatigued with overuse. Studies show that repeatedly resisting temptation drains your ability to withstand future enticements.
• Willpower depletion has a physical basis. Individuals whose willpower has been depleted have decreased activity in a brain region involved with cognition, and have lower blood-glucose levels than do people whose willpower has not been diminished.
• The effects of willpower depletion may be mitigated by positive moods, beliefs and attitudes.
• Willpower depletion impacts a range of behaviors, including food intake, substance use and abuse and purchasing behavior.
• Financial decision-making may be even more depleting for people living in poverty, since virtually all financial decisions are likely to represent difficult tests of self-control among people who are financially insecure.
• Avoiding temptation and planning ahead are effective tactics for maintaining self-control in the face of temptation.
• With the right motivation, you may be able to persevere even when your willpower strength has been depleted.
• Maintaining steady blood-glucose levels, such as by eating regular healthy meals and snacks, may help prevent the effects of willpower depletion.
• Because being depleted in one area can reduce willpower in other spheres, it is more effective to focus on a single goal at a time rather than attacking a list of multiple resolutions at once.
• Just as muscles are strengthened by regular exercise, regularly exerting self-control may improve willpower strength over time.

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