Cat Self-Control Workouts

Self-control Workouts

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In Succeed, Dr. Heidi Grant Halverson tells us:

If you want more self-control, you can get more. And you get more self-control the same way you get bigger muscles—you’ve got to give it regular workouts. Recent research has shown that engaging in daily activities such as exercising, keeping track of your finances or what you are eating—or even just remembering to sit up straight every time you think of it—can help you develop your overall self-control capacity. For example, in one study, students who were assigned to (and stuck to) a daily exercise program not only got physically healthier, but they also became more likely to wash dishes instead of leaving them in the sink, and less likely to impulsively spend money.”

In The Willpower Instinct, Dr. Kelly McGonigal tells us:

Other studies have found that committing to any small, consistent act of self-control—improving your posture, squeezing a handgrip every day to exhaustion, cutting back on sweets, and keeping track of your spending—can increase overall willpower. And while these small self-control exercises may seem inconsequential, they appear to improve the willpower challenges we care about most, including focusing at work, taking good care of our health, resisting temptation, and feeling more in control of our emotions.”

On The Huberman Lab Dr. Andrew Huberman tells us about the willpower muscle:

There you go: “If you want more self-control, you can get more. And you get more self-control the same way you get bigger muscles—you’ve got to give it regular workouts.”

Identify a tiny behavior you would like to install or delete and track your progress daily to flex your self-control muscles.

Right now, I am trying to install the behavior of extreme ownership, which means I need to uninstall criticizing, condemning, and complaining.