Self-control training

Self-control has a lot in common with self-control, but it is more proactive. Nowadays, many families have only one child, and it is easy for the child to be spoiled. Even if the parents want to discipline him strictly, the grandparents will not agree. Self-control is very important for a child's growth. It can be said that it will affect a child's life. It is important to correctly train children's self-control.

1. Meditation

Meditation is not about thinking about nothing, but about not being too distracted and not forgetting your original goal.

The human brain is like a student with a strong thirst for knowledge, and its response to experience is beyond our imagination. If you teach your brain math every day, it will get better and better at math. If you make it worry, it will become more and more worried. If you let it focus, it will become more and more focused. Therefore, we can enhance self-control by training our brain. Among these methods of brain training, the simplest and most painless one is: meditation.

Neuroscientists have found that if you regularly train your brain to meditate, it will not only become good at meditation, but it will also improve your self-control, your ability to concentrate, manage stress, restrain impulses, and understand yourself. Research has found that eight weeks of daily meditation training can improve people’s self-awareness and self-control in their daily lives.

2. Slow down your breathing

Slowing down your breathing can activate the prefrontal cortex (the part of the brain associated with self-control), increase heart rate variability (people with high self-control have higher heart rate variability), and help your body and mind adjust from a state of stress to a state of self-control.

When we face willpower challenges, we might as well try to reduce our breathing rate to 4 to 6 times per minute, which means each breath takes 10 to 15 seconds, which is slower than usual. After a few minutes of this training, you will feel calm, in control, and able to restrain your desires and meet challenges head on. Studies have shown that sticking to this exercise can enhance your ability to withstand stress and help you build up your willpower reserves, so let’s do 1 to 2 minutes of breathing exercises every day to increase our willpower reserves.

3. Keep exercising

If you feel that exercise is too tiring or you don't have time to exercise, you might as well think of exercise as a way to restore your physical energy and willpower.

For beginners, the effect of exercise on willpower is immediate. Just 15 minutes of treadmill exercise can reduce the temptation of food and cigarettes. The long-term effects of exercise are even more pronounced, not only relieving common everyday stress but also fighting depression. Exercise, like meditation, can make our brains more fulfilled and function faster.

What kind of exercise is most effective? The body and the brain are in harmony. So, whatever you want to do is the best starting point. Cleaning, walking, swimming, and shopping can all be effective ways to exercise.

4. Get enough sleep

Sleep deprivation has the same effects on the brain as being slightly drunk. We all know that when drunk, people have no self-control at all.

Many people understand the necessity of adequate sleep, but when it comes to late at night, they always fall into the state of "doing one more thing" and checking their Moments, Weibo, and Jianshu one last time. If you know you can get more sleep but can't fall asleep earlier, don't think about sleep. First think about what you really want, is it enough sleep or stronger willpower? Or wandering in the virtual world of the Internet late at night? The real problem with our ability to “get more sleep” is to stay away from the things that keep us awake.

5. Train your willpower muscles

All the muscles in your body can become stronger through training. If self-control is a muscle, we should train it.

Learn to control the little things that you didn’t control before, so you can train your self-control muscles and improve your overall willpower. These small things include changing your posture, squeezing a handle every day, giving up sweets, and keeping track of your spending. Although these small exercises in self-control may seem insignificant, they can help us tackle the willpower challenges we care about most, like focusing on our tasks, resisting temptations, and better controlling our emotions.

Here are three "self-control muscle" training modes for you.

1. “Don’t do”: Don’t swear (or say certain catchphrases), don’t cross your legs when sitting, and don’t use your dominant hand for daily activities, such as eating and opening doors.

2. “I will do”: Do something every day (but not something you are already doing) to develop a habit. For example, call home every day, meditate for five minutes every day, or find one thing every day that needs to be thrown away or reused.

3. “Self-monitoring”: Carefully record something you don’t usually pay attention to, such as your expenses, diet, or the time you spend playing with your phone.

In fact, we can choose an exercise related to our willpower challenge. For example, if my goal is to lose weight, then I will do 10 sit-ups before going to bed every day. Even exercising willpower every day in the seemingly stupidest, simplest ways can build up energy for our willpower challenges.