Start your week off with with some meaningful and thought-provoking stimulus.
Self-control is important, no doubt about it. You've probably heard about the importance of self-control a million times. Or, you haven't figured out its' importance yet and that's why you might be holding yourself back without knowing it. However, ask most parents and teaching their kids self-control is probably high on their list of parenting priorities. (Or teaching some form of self-control, such as trying to restrict the number of hours spent watching TV or teaching them to resist certain degenerative temptations like eating too much candy).
But don't take it from what you've heard about self-control thus far, take it from the research. Angela Duckworth et al. surveyed middle school students on self-control and IQ and found that while IQ was a factor in final GPA, levels of self-control had a bigger effect on grades. Look at the graph below. IQ alone can get you to the 90's level, but self-control pushes you beyond.
Now, you might be thinking "so what if this worked on middle schooler's, it doesn't apply to me", and you have a fair point. However, self control has been found to be a significant factor in adulthood as well.
The Duniden Longitudinal study (Moffitt et al.) measured self-control in 1,037 young children born in 1972-73 from the same region in New Zealand (Duniden) and have been following them for the rest of their lives. So far the findings have been remarkable. Researchers pitted self-control against IQ and socio-economic status. Throughout the participants adulthood the researchers looked at wealth and financial decision-making, crime, age of becoming a parent, and long-term physical health. The researchers found that self control was just as, or in many cases more important to wealth, crime, health, etc... than IQ and socio-economic status during childhood. (Just imagine the same results graph like the one above, but instead of Final GPA on the side it is Wealth).
Self-control is tricky because as Angela Duckworth puts it, there is a catch 22 involved. A lot of the strategies we are taught for self-control require self-control to implement. Example: "Slowing down and taking a deep breath." If you find yourself easily ticked off, then it is unlikely that remembering to slow down and take a breath will work, because by the time you remember you have already blown a gasket.
Have no fear though, that's where this Mondays' video comes in: Go to minute 8:20 in the video below to learn about the five most-effective strategies of self-control. The best part? You don't need a good level of self-control to implement them. (Note: Following the video can get a little tricky, so below the video I have included a short definition of each strategy).
(Here's the video link: https://vimeo.com/96079124)
Summary of the 5 strategies of self-control:
Situation Selection: Sitting in the front rows in class or meeting, selecting the right social situation. (Parents/teachers/bosses: Can't make people sit in the front or make them choose their friends, because it's not self-control. Instead, make them aware of how situation selection boosts self-control and its' benefits).
Situation Modification: Seeing vs. not seeing the reward. Study showed that secretaries are much more likely to eat candy on their desk if it is in a clear jar vs. in a jar they can't see through or reach easily.
Selective Attention: Where you look matters. Catch yourself if you are off-task and eliminate distractions to help you stay more disciplined with a task.
Cognitive re-appraisal: Think of yourself in the third person as you imagine yourself doing things versus in the first person to help regulate negative emotions. (Imagine yourself getting angry with someone from the point of view of a bystander).
Response Modulation: Direct suppression of impulses (willpower). Not as reliable as the other strategies, but if all else fails, try summoning the willpower for self-control. (The more you do the better you will get).
Interesting nugget of knowledge: Self-control is correlated with Grit and vice-versa. Duckworth found that if someone has a high level of self-control, they are likely to have a high level of Grit. However, keep in mind that having a high level in one aspect doesn't guarantee a high level in the other, it's just a correlation.
Further resources:
Duckworth Study: Self-control in school-age children: http://isites.harvard.edu/fs/docs/icb.topic1296633.files/Self-Control%20in%20School-Age%20Children%20072513.pdf
Duniden Longitudinal Study: http://www.pnas.org/content/108/7/2693.full.pdf
Self-control is important, no doubt about it. You've probably heard about the importance of self-control a million times. Or, you haven't figured out its' importance yet and that's why you might be holding yourself back without knowing it. However, ask most parents and teaching their kids self-control is probably high on their list of parenting priorities. (Or teaching some form of self-control, such as trying to restrict the number of hours spent watching TV or teaching them to resist certain degenerative temptations like eating too much candy).
But don't take it from what you've heard about self-control thus far, take it from the research. Angela Duckworth et al. surveyed middle school students on self-control and IQ and found that while IQ was a factor in final GPA, levels of self-control had a bigger effect on grades. Look at the graph below. IQ alone can get you to the 90's level, but self-control pushes you beyond.
Duckworth et al.
Cool study, but i'm not in middle school.
The Duniden Longitudinal study (Moffitt et al.) measured self-control in 1,037 young children born in 1972-73 from the same region in New Zealand (Duniden) and have been following them for the rest of their lives. So far the findings have been remarkable. Researchers pitted self-control against IQ and socio-economic status. Throughout the participants adulthood the researchers looked at wealth and financial decision-making, crime, age of becoming a parent, and long-term physical health. The researchers found that self control was just as, or in many cases more important to wealth, crime, health, etc... than IQ and socio-economic status during childhood. (Just imagine the same results graph like the one above, but instead of Final GPA on the side it is Wealth).
So how can I develop self-control?
Self-control is tricky because as Angela Duckworth puts it, there is a catch 22 involved. A lot of the strategies we are taught for self-control require self-control to implement. Example: "Slowing down and taking a deep breath." If you find yourself easily ticked off, then it is unlikely that remembering to slow down and take a breath will work, because by the time you remember you have already blown a gasket.
Have no fear though, that's where this Mondays' video comes in: Go to minute 8:20 in the video below to learn about the five most-effective strategies of self-control. The best part? You don't need a good level of self-control to implement them. (Note: Following the video can get a little tricky, so below the video I have included a short definition of each strategy).
Summary of the 5 strategies of self-control:
Situation Selection: Sitting in the front rows in class or meeting, selecting the right social situation. (Parents/teachers/bosses: Can't make people sit in the front or make them choose their friends, because it's not self-control. Instead, make them aware of how situation selection boosts self-control and its' benefits).
Situation Modification: Seeing vs. not seeing the reward. Study showed that secretaries are much more likely to eat candy on their desk if it is in a clear jar vs. in a jar they can't see through or reach easily.
Selective Attention: Where you look matters. Catch yourself if you are off-task and eliminate distractions to help you stay more disciplined with a task.
Cognitive re-appraisal: Think of yourself in the third person as you imagine yourself doing things versus in the first person to help regulate negative emotions. (Imagine yourself getting angry with someone from the point of view of a bystander).
Response Modulation: Direct suppression of impulses (willpower). Not as reliable as the other strategies, but if all else fails, try summoning the willpower for self-control. (The more you do the better you will get).
Interesting nugget of knowledge: Self-control is correlated with Grit and vice-versa. Duckworth found that if someone has a high level of self-control, they are likely to have a high level of Grit. However, keep in mind that having a high level in one aspect doesn't guarantee a high level in the other, it's just a correlation.
Further resources:
Duckworth Study: Self-control in school-age children: http://isites.harvard.edu/fs/docs/icb.topic1296633.files/Self-Control%20in%20School-Age%20Children%20072513.pdf
Duniden Longitudinal Study: http://www.pnas.org/content/108/7/2693.full.pdf
No comments:
Post a Comment
Don't hesitate to leave some of your thoughts about this post. I welcome and appreciate your honesty.