How Do You Improve Your Self-control and Develop Good Habits?
I answered hundreds of questions about habits and those answers got millions of views on Quora. Strangely enough, it only encourages more questions like this. Here goes my answer:
You have it backwards. You develop good habits, and that way you develop self-control.
“Self-control” sounds so intangible and undefined. What does it even mean?
It’s important what it means for you. For one person, self-control is staying away from drugs. For another person, it is not screaming at their children when they get annoying. And for the third person, self-control means that he doesn’t hop on Facebook when doing his job at the office.
Self-control is not improved by flexing some imaginary self-control mental muscle, but by following some specific rules and routines you set for yourself.
On the other hand, developing good habits is very tangible and very specific. This is the rule or routine you will follow and in that way, your self-control will improve.
How
As to “how,” I encourage you to take the Tiny Habits course to start. It’s free, super easy, lasts only a week, and consumes less than half an hour of your time. During the course you will learn everything you need to know about habit development and you will develop three new habits along the way.
The three habits I recommend at the beginning are holistic in their nature and they can provide profound impact even in the tiny doses.
According to BJ Fogg, the course’s creator, the requirements for tiny habits are:
-you do at least once a day,
-takes you less than 30 seconds,
-requires little effort.
The three habits I recommend are: exercises, meditation and gratitude journaling.
1. Exercises.
First of all, this is a keystone habit, one of the very few recognized in research.
“Keystone habits are habits that have a multiplier or a domino effect in your life.” — Brian Tracy
Forcing yourself to move your butt always involves some degree of self-control. You will gain wide and awesome benefits from a workout routine, and…
