Healthy Lifestyle Tip: Control Yourself

Healthy Lifestyle Tip: Control Yourself

We all have a limited amount of willpower. The good news is that willpower is like a muscle: The more you use it, the stronger it becomes.

People who stick to an exercise programme for two months have also reported a reduction in impulse spending, junk food intake and smoking. They also watch less television, study more and do more housework. Whatever the explanation, consistently doing any activity that requires self-control seems to increase willpower. How can we have more control over ourselves more often?

Get it on Your Schedule. If you plan what you are going to do and have everything ready, you avoid the big debate with yourself

about whether you will or will not do it.

Get an Exercise Buddy. Being accountable to someone else is a great motivator.

Get it Over With. If you know you can’t make yourself exercise after an exhausting day, do it first thing in the morning.

Get in a Good Mood. Studies suggest that people can muster more self-control when they are in a good mood. So, listening to music that makes you happy or watching something funny online could be just the motivation you need.

“The good news is that self-control is like a muscle, and the more it is flexed the bigger it gets.” Kathleen Martin Ginis, associate professor of kinesiology at McMaster University and lead author of the study says, “The more you challenge yourself by doing things like resisting that chocolate cake or resisting the urge to hit the snooze button in the morning the more you build self-control.”