How to resist temptation and build self-discipline

Many people resort to meditation and full attention to better regulate behavior and achieve objectives. But how exactly does this work?

 

How to resist temptation and build self-discipline

According to psychologists,

Effectively controlling impulses and regulating our behavior may be the key without depleting our limited reserves of willpower.

 

Behavioral scientist Rimma Teper explained that during mindfulness training, “you are actively monitoring your thoughts, but you are not grasping them.” “You are not meditating on the past, you are not thinking about the future. When thoughts arise, you will pay attention. To them, you are making them disappear."

 

In other words, full attention and meditation can make us more conscious and accept thoughts and emotions.

 

Awareness and acceptance play a key role in executive control, our ability to inhibit impulses. Full attention gives us the tools to recognize the thoughts and feelings that distract feelings in a way not judged ("I realize that I am looking forward to a piece of cake now"), which makes us better equip them to resist them. Therefore, recognize and accept the twinge of guilt you can feel, since it is about to take a bite can help you overcome the impulse. "The two facets of full attention, awareness and acceptance, help improve executive control," writes Teper ". This, in turn, helps promote the effective regulation of emotion."

 

In an overview of mindfulness, psychologist Kirk Warren Brown wrote that mindfulness enables us to "be aware of the ongoing self march, including one's attempts to exercise self-control." Once we are aware of the "parade" of desires and needs in our minds, we can better understand and choose our goals and desires. Brown explained that there are two techniques that can regulate our behavior: self-regulation and conscious self-regulation. Brown explained that when we exercise self-control, "we feel that we need to control some impulses, some desires, some thoughts or emotions." "It usually involves stopping it, suppressing it, or redirecting it in some way." Therefore, angry people can exercise self-control by suppressing emotions or redirecting emotions and hitting a wall. On the other hand, mindfulness involves "just being with her and paying attention to her." Brown said that over time, "we found out," Hey, is this coming? I don't have to jump on it to control it. I can be with him and know that he will come into my mind in his own way. "

 

Mindfulness helps us understand that thought is just thought; no manipulation is required.

 

This cautious approach to self-regulation is much less than exercising self-control. "It can be said that self-control usually manifests itself as willpower," Brown said. "And this requires energy." On the other hand, "the self in conscious self-regulation is very different," he said. "This does not mean this self-based willpower. That self is the expression of our deepest values, deepest desires, and deepest needs at that moment. It is not self-centered, but more compliance with the current requirements of us. "Brown said that instead of wasting energy, consciously regulating behavior can be truly stimulating. This is a key difference, because willpower is a precious resource that will deplete when we use it. Several studies have shown that when participants are When asked to refuse the cookie, they then gave up the challenging problem faster than the prize winner.

 

In an overview of full attention, the psychologist Kirk Warren Brown wrote that full attention allows us to "be aware of the current parade put by the self, including one attempts to exercise self-control." Once we are aware of the "parade" of desires and needs in our minds, we can be better informed and selective about our goals and desires. Brown explains that there are two techniques to regulate our behavior: self-contracting regulation and conscious self-control. When we exercise self-control, there are "some impulses, some desires, some thoughts or emotions that arise that we feel that we need to do a handling," explains Brown. "It often involves stopping it, or suppressing it, or redirecting it in some way." So an angry person could exercise self-control by suppressing emotions, or by redirecting them and hitting a wall. Full attention, on the other hand, implies "just being with that, paying attention to it." Brown says that over time, "we realize, hey, this thing that approaches? I do not have to jump necessarily for all this to get control of it. I can simply be with him, and know that he will work in my mind. "

 

Mindfulness helps us understand that thought is just thought; no manipulation is required.

 

This cautious approach to self-regulation is much less than exercising self-control. "It can be said that self-control usually manifests itself as willpower," Brown said. "And this requires energy." On the other hand, "the self in conscious self-regulation is very different," he said. "It does not involve this kind of self-based willpower. That self is the expression of our deepest values, deepest desires, and deepest needs at that moment. This is not about self-centeredness, but more compliance with the current requirements of us. "Brown said that instead of wasting energy, consciously regulating behavior can be really stimulating. This is a key difference, because willpower is a precious resource, and as we use it, multiple studies have shown that when participants are asked to refuse to eat When making cookies, they will then give up challenging puzzles faster than those who eat the prizes.

 

But mindfulness and meditation can actually restore exhausted willpower. In a 2012 study, researchers asked participants to watch YouTube videos designed to arouse disgust. Some people are allowed to express their natural emotions, while others are told to keep their faces straight (suppressed emotions weaken self-control). Next comes a five-minute simple task or meditation. Participants who did not suppress emotions in the video performed better on the challenging attention test used to measure self-control. However, it is crucial that those participants who suppressed their emotions and meditated performed as well as those who did not. The author concludes: "This finding shows that short-term mindfulness meditation can be used as a quick and effective strategy to promote self-control in situations where resources are scarce."

 

The Energy and non-draining benefits of full attention can increase over time.

 

A study by Medicine students of 2009 found that those who participated in an integrated full-service and lifestyle program experienced depression and hostility rates. And a clinical guide for sports resistance medicine encourages training with full attention for resistance athletes, another group depends on its own willpower. According to the guide, when athletes suppress negative thoughts, "these thoughts can be added paradoxically." Instead, the techniques of full care "encourage the athlete to challenge that belief with the evidence as' I did not break the race well, but that does not mean that I am a failure in all things, I managed to achieve the management of my nutrition effectively ". and recognize negative feelings (such as insecurity or tension in the chest), instead of suppressing them. It is not a big surprise, then, these conscious people exhibit higher levels of conscience (defined as reliable, responsible, responsible, oriented to the rule, oriented to achievement and self-disciplined, according to an analysis of personality research 2009. According to the document, the link is likely due to the greater capacity of "conscious individuals" self-regulation. "Teper says meditation can be an excellent practice to learn to resist impulses and self-regulation aware:" The natural inclination of the mind It's wander. We started ruminism, we started planning what we are going to have dinner, or regurgitizing a conversation that we had with our friend on the phone two days ago. "During meditation, we practice avoiding these thought rabbit holes, which trains us to avoid others impulses in our lives.