Build Self Control

Have you ever angrily stuffed the last doughnut down your throat? Have you ever failed a test in school because playing games is much more important than studying? By following these simple steps, one can build, strengthen, and maintain one's self-control.

Steps

 * 1) Analyze your life. See which areas are suffering and which are prospering.  If you are failing all of your classes in school, you might need to study!  If you are gaining weight at an alarming rate, you may need to sacrifice a few candy bars. You may be pushing yourself too hard. Take breaks over the weekends, even if you are doing wasteful things.
 * 2) Analyze the area in which you are lacking control. If your grades are plummeting, recognize that your study life plays an integral part in the grading system.  Read books or articles about the area you are having difficulty with.  Becoming informed makes it much easier to make the right decision when you're tempted to overdo something.  For example, if you want to lose weight, taking the time to read about nutrition and healthy dieting will naturally motivate you and make eating right much more enjoyable.  In terms of gaining self control, knowledge really is power!
 * 3) Act on your analysis. By this time, you have recognized that you are failing school.  You have delved further into the problem and noticed that you spend much of your free time doing things other than study or homework.  In order to build self-control, you must practice self-denial.  Challenge yourself to break your destructive habits.  Challenge others to challenge you to break your habits.  Lack of study?  Tell your mother, father, brother, sister, friend, anyone, to order you to get off your computer after 10 minutes. Gaining weight? Give half of your lunch to your coworker.
 * 4) Analyze your action. Still gaining weight even after making proper diet changes?  Try exercising or consulting a doctor.  Your grades aren't improving?  Try listening in class and reviewing work every other day.

Tips

 * In order to build self-control, you must deny yourself. You need to listen to your conscience. Practice giving away things. Give away gifts that you receive; be creative.
 * Make self-denial a habit and not just a trend. If you intend to truly change yourself, you must make these steps a constant guide for the rest of your life.  Even though you may feel righteous for sharing your lunch or doing your homework for a week, if you lapse back into your bad habits, all of your hard work has been in vain.
 * Possess a strong will and still have self-control problems? Instead of removing the subject of your desire from your presence, deliberately challenge yourself with this subject.  Have an addiction to television?  Turn on the television and avert your eyes and watch a shelf or a book for two hours.  Not only will you gain a stronger will, but you will also feel the strength of your addiction begin to fade.
 * You may find research into such concepts as Neuro-linguistic Programming beneficial, as these tools can be used to affect strengths of addictions and other problems in your mind.
 * Never punish yourself for the lack of control. You will only feed the power of your lack of self control.
 * Self-control cannot be compartmentalized; don’t think you can be self-controlled in your use of the computer and not in your TV watching. You need to practice discipline in all areas of your life.  Do this by paying attention to details in all areas of life; if your room is dirty, clean it, if a picture is crooked, straighten it.  Soon you will see your effort in one area spill over to others.

Warnings

 * Don't get carried away with your desire to gain control. It isn't healthy, for example, to not eat.  Don't let control become just another addiction.

Related Tips and Steps

 * How to Lose 5 Pounds in 5 Weeks
 * How to Get Straight A's