Can You Train Yourself Into Better Self-Control?
Posted on , in Section Personal Growth
Seeing as how January 17th was “Ditch Your New Years Resolutions Day,” just barely two weeks into the New Year, it looks plausible that there is more than one American who has problems with sticking to their New Year’s promises. I have made many every year, most of them forgotten. “Losing weight” is at the top of many people’s lists, most especially my own, as my wedding in less than seven months will showcase a lovely gown that I prefer to look un-whale-like in. Now almost three weeks into January, anyone is free to offer a guess as to how much exercise and/or dieting I have accomplished.
That’s right. Zip. None. ZERO.
Every year, thousands of Americans rush to the gym, tighten their belts, cut up credit cards, or throw away their cigarettes, only to bring it all back a very short time later. We all start out with good intentions, but our normal habits are often stronger and drag us back with their familiarity.
Wouldn’t it be amazing if we could train ourselves to utilize more self-control?
The University of Oregon wondered if they could do just that. Researchers studied a controlled group of people, training them to push an arrow button on the computer for some time. All were given a “go” signal, and some saw an actual light/signal to “stop.” Those that saw the stop signal were better at controlling their actions, and brain activity “suggest that the improved inhibitory control is associated with those cues” (Beck, theatlantic.com).
But, unfortunately, the control did not transfer to other tasks. Only the task that was trained for—the endless hitting of a button—was controlled, and I’m guessing that is not a problem that most of us have.
Looks like we’re on our own, folks. For whatever reason, there are many people that seem to have a better grip on getting their butts in gear for whatever resolution they have chosen. For the rest of us, the next time we big up that bag of M&M’s, or ignore our running shoes for the comfort of the sofa and big-screen TV, it’s going to be harder to try again the next day to get over the bad habit.
Perhaps button clicking is something I should look into.
