Measure Thy Self-Control

The Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu once said: "He who conquers others is strong; He who conquers himself is mighty." Quite true, for the most difficult to argue with, is yourself.



How many times, you told yourself, you will start your program on diet and weight loss? How many mornings did you wake up feeling bad and regretful because you did not do as you promised yourself yesterday? Most probably, your self-control is the problem.



An individual can say that self-control and self-discipline is one and the same. But self-discipline differs from self-control. Self-discipline is usually attributed to a person's capability to accomplish a task through regular manifestation of the behavior. Discipline is something that is developed from the earlier years of childhood and adolescence. On the other hand, though self-control is also a capability to accomplishing a task and also possible to be developed during the formative years of a human being, the ability to control one's self varies on a case-to-case basis.



A disciplined person is someone who can wake up early despite turning in late the previous night. In contrast, the ability to control one's instinct and desire is another matter. Even if one is disciplined not to exceed his financial limits, if self-control is weak, then the individual may end up spending more than he can earn. And in here lies the problem when such individual owns a credit card, especially with quite large credit limit.



It is imperative that one has the strong will to control his urge to spend more than needed, especially if he uses a credit card in almost all his purchases. Many have suffered because of weakness and credit card debt is no exemption.



Do you remember the television commercial of a child looking at a marshmallow? He was promised that if he will not eat the confection before his guardian returns, he will get two instead of one. Psychologists attribute such self-control to emotional quotient. The concept of EQ is still young despite it being studied in the late 1980s by two psychologists namely Peter Salovey from Yale University and John Mayer from the University of New Hampshire.



If you will analyze, emotional quotient and self-control are both affective in nature. Unlike knowledge and skills, it is difficult to measure. Self-control is in part an affective behavior as well as cognitive. An individual will feel that he likes a certain object, will look at it, examine it, until the brain sends a warning that the individual cannot afford it at the moment. Consequently, the person will feel the struggle of each aspect, as he waits who wins.



An emotionally mature individual will usually ask himself if he needs the particular item seen. A couple of minutes thinking is all it takes and he will walk away without purchasing it. Such method of dealing with the impulse of spending compulsively is an effective way to save himself from future financial burden. It is noteworthy to mention the words of the late American singer, songwriter and music arranger Janis Joplin, "Do not compromise yourself. You're all you've got."