hey everyone and welcome to top think today we're going to learn about ten simple ways to
build self-control now let's begin number one set your standard when you're productive first
thing in the morning what happens well you're more productive throughout the day right what if you're
lazy first thing in the morning that lazy morning snowballs into a lazy afternoon my point is you
set a standard right after you wake up and that standard guides your behavior for the rest of the
day so you start your day by keeping yourself in check avoid distractions like watching TV while
you eat or control your laziness by waking up without the snooze button each of these little
victories will build your self-control develop your self-discipline and it'll help you resist
temptation time after time number two find your locus of control who's in control of your life
is it you or is it someone else most people assume they're in control of their own life but when they
stop and think about it they realize someone else is deciding their life for them psychologists call
this a locus of control your locus of control is any person community or idea that guides
your definition of success your family might push you to take a certain job maybe they've convinced
you that doctors are successful while artists are failures or maybe your hometown has a huge affect
on your priorities you might look up to the people in your community and think that's what I want my
life to look like or that's what success means to me now generally someone's locus of control falls
into one of two categories internal or external those last two examples your parents and your
hometown are both examples of an external locus of control in other words the most powerful force in
your life comes from somewhere other than you an internal locus of control on the other hand begins
with you it means you base your decisions off of your own value if you have an internal locus
of control you motivate yourself you inspire yourself and you change your own direction
without worrying about what other people expect of you so what does all this have to do with self
control a 20-19 study from the journal frontiers in psychology found out that your locus of control
has a substantial effect on your mindset in fact individuals with an external locus of control are
more likely to experience psychological strain and less satisfaction with their lives when
you're stressed or unhappy it becomes harder and harder to resist temptations maintain good habits
and keep yourself in check now as complicated as all this sounds it's a lot simpler in practice
if you want to build self-control make your own choices anytime you're about to make an
important decision ask yourself is this really what I want or am i doing this because someone
else expects me to the more often you follow that internal compass the more control you'll feel over
your own life number 3 adopt a doing mentality imagine you're setting new goals this year you
really want to exercise on a regular basis so you say to yourself I'm going to try to exercise three
days a week it sounds like a good goal right but there's one big problem the word try many people
set themselves up for failure by adopting the wrong mentality a trying mentality makes your
goals seem optional it creates room for failure and it assumes that you're going to mess up but
what's the point of setting a new goal if you're expecting yourself to fail that's why adopting a
new mentality is so much more effective for developing self-control instead of trying
to work out 3 times a week you tell yourself that you're going to work out 3 times a week this rigid
mindset stops you from flaking on your goals and losing your motivation because a doing mentality
is all about one thing picking a goal and sticking to it number four rearrange your priorities the
average person sets a lot of goals some for their career some for their health and some for their
passions and hobbies but not every goal demands constant attention so it's important to keep your
priorities in check just ask yourself what are my most important goals because those goals should
sit at the top of your priority list these are the goals that you're working to accomplish every
single day goals you can't afford to slack off on now ask yourself a second question what are my
least important goals these are the goals you want but don't really need the goals you don't mind
fading into the background now both of these kinds of goals are crucial for self-control because you
need to know what comes first and what comes last if you keep your priorities in check you can stay
firm on the things that matter and give yourself some room to breathe on the things that don't
number five monitor your progress few things are more motivating than progress if you're trying to
lose weight you want to see a lower number on your scale right if you're trying to be more productive
you want to cross those items off your to-do list progress inspires you to push harder and
harder every day so don't let that progress go to waste to build your self-control keep tabs on your
progress pay attention to the little improvements that you make over time they might seem small or
insignificant now but every bit of progress adds up that way when you're feeling tempted or losing
control you can look back on how far you've come and remind yourself what you're fighting for
number six reroute your control self control isn't habit specific in other words if you're trying
to quit a bad habit you can help yourself quit by quitting something else first all right let's say
you want to cut junk food out of your diet but you're having a hard time controlling yourself
so instead of focusing on junk food try to stop watching TV for a few weeks now during those few
weeks you may be eating junk food but you're still practicing self-discipline you're still
resisting some kind of temptation and you're building self control which means that you'll
have an easier time tackling junk food the next time around number seven boost your energy when
are you the laziest well you're lazy when you're unmotivated you're lazy when you're distracted but
most of all you're lazy when you're tired if your body and brain doesn't have the energy to perform
your productivity is going to nosedive and that's why fatigue is such a powerful predictor of both
self-control and performance so how can you give your energy levels a boost according to a 2006
study from the University of Georgia regular exercise is a great place to start exercising
multiple times per week can reduce general fatigue which means you have more energy to get things
done mooom but that's not all a 20-17 study from the journal behavioural modification found that
physical activity increases self discipline on its own in other words consistent exercise will keep
you in control of your life oh why is that because regular routine teaches you to delay gratification
and stick to your goals so if you want to build self-control it might be time to start hitting
the gym number eight strategic delays sometimes you take on more than you can handle you lose
control because you're feeling overwhelmed now if that happens don't force yourself to
do everything at once pick out the most important things and postpone the rest yeah I know it seems
like procrastination but it's really not because you're learning what you can and can't handle
you're learning how to set your own limits and those limits will keep you productive and in
control down the line number nine automate your goals out in the real world self control falls
by the wayside you're having fun with your friends you got swept up in the moment and you forgot all
about those goals that you created for yourself you tell yourself hey it's okay to have fun every
once in a while but doing something on only special occasions can quickly turn into a bad
habit so what simple tricks can you use to keep yourself under control one effective strategy
is called goal automation decide on certain things ahead of schedule that way when you come
face-to-face with temptation you automatically know what to say no all right let's try for an
example imagine you're going to eat with a group of friends you've been really really good with
your diet so you want to make sure you order the healthiest option available instead of getting
tempted by all the other delicious options you decide before dinner that you're going to order
a salad so that's exactly what you do and by the time you get to the restaurant you don't even have
to look at a menu you already know exactly what to order relieving that pressure and keeping your
habits under control number 10 practice your failsafe people who automate their goals often
use something called a fail-safe let's say you decide to order that salad but your friend orders
a burger that makes your mouth water you know what you're supposed to say you decided your order
ahead of time Wow but that irresistible temptation that burger is changing your mind this is the
perfect moment to use your failsafe a fail-safe is a ritual you do everytime you lose control
some people close their eyes and count to ten others go to the bathroom and look in the mirror
you can choose almost anything as your failsafe as long as it helps you clear your head hey thank you
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