Research conducted by Roy Braumeister suggests that self-control (one of two important traits linked to success in life) is a consumable resource. That is the more you use it, the more difficulty you can have in both doing and not doing (resisting temptation). He was able to demonstrate this depletion in self-control by simply asking participants to watch a movie and ignore the words that flashed across the bottom of the screen (which requires self-control). Taken in total there are many observations that can be made concerning self-control (after reading several research papers on the topic):
– self control is needed to both do things that you need to do and to avoid the things that you should avoid.
-as consumable resource, it is better to expend it doing things that are important vs avoiding things that you should not do
– those who are good at self-control, seem to minimize the things that they need to avoid (probably giving them more energy to do the things that they need to do)
– self-control can be built like a muscle, the key strategy is to minimize temptation at times that your self-discipline bucket is depleted, and allow adequate time for recovery.
– when building self control, it is better to start small, and monitor your behavior.
– daily rest and Sabbath are likely very important has they likely replenish your allotment of self-control
– the wisdom in The Lords Prayer; “lead me not into temptation, but deliver me from evil”
To hear from Roy Baumeister check out this video :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibui4M4eito
