This Is the Top Predictor of Success in Life
Self control predicts success even better than IQ. From Charles Duhigg's excellent book The Power of Habit Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business, Conscientiousness is the fundmental personality trait most closely tied to self control and it tracks with nearly every type of success across your lifespan. It's pretty crazy really, Money and job satisfaction?  Check. Finding a job?  Check. Long marriage?  Check. Healthier life?  Check. Long life?  Check. And let's not forget good grades and staying out of jail. Via How Children Succeed Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character, So maybe you're not the most conscientious person. Maybe you can be impulsive and often lack self-control. Me too. This does not mean either of us should be shopping for a cardboard box on skid row. Unlike IQ, self-control can easily be increased. Here's how. , I interviewed Roy Baumeister, the leading expert on self-control and author of Willpower Resdiscovering the Greatest Human Strength to learn about how it works. Willpower is like energy  using it burns it up, and you have to replenish it. Anything that involves self-control draws on that one willpower fuel source so dieting takes energy away from your ability to hold your tongue in a conversation  and vice versa. SNEAKY TIP Want to persuade someone? Offer them something tempting they'll say no to. Resisting urges uses up willpower, leaving less for them to fight persuasion with., Like a muscle, exerting willpower makes your self-control ability stronger over time. I've posted many scientifically supported willpower tips over the years but I'm just going to focus on my favorite ones here. 1 Use willpower to build willpower. Just a little bit of practice every day can increase self-control and improving self-control in one area of life tends to improve all areas of life. From Willpower Resdiscovering the Greatest Human Strength, 2 Automate your behavior. When something is a habit and you don't have to make decisions or even think about it, it doesn't use much willpower. The more you can make something habitual, the less self-control you burn. And you can further improve your self-control by planning. Decide ahead of time how you will respond when willpower is taxed and you'll be much more likely to default to that. Without a clear plan in your head you're more likely to succumb. Via Christian Jarrett at BPS Research Digest, 3 Pre-commit to good behavior. Daniel Akst, author of We Have Met the Enemy Self-Control in an Age of Excess, explains how we can use "precommitment devices" to rein in desire, So give a friend 500 and tell them to keep it if you don't follow through with your goals. Need more willpower for the day? Simply making decisions burns willpower so reducing the number and difficulty of decisions you make is an easy way to conserve it. That's what President Obama does. Need to quickly replenish willpower? Eat something. Yes, it's that simple. In fact, kids who skip breakfast misbehave more than kids who eat their Wheaties. Give them a snack and they're little angels again. Via Willpower Resdiscovering the Greatest Human Strength, , You're not a machine. And the goal here isn't to turn you into one. There is a powerful human element underlying self-control that should not be ignored. Willpower improves relationships, And relationships improve willpower, Which recruits pass Hell Week and go on to become Navy SEALS? They're not necessarily the ones with the biggest muscles but they're often the ones with the biggest hearts. From Willpower Resdiscovering the Greatest Human Strength, Join over 190,000 readers. Get a free weekly update via email here. Related posts, How To Stop Being Lazy And Get More Done  5 Expert Tips, How To Get People To Like You 7 Ways From An FBI Behavior Expert, New Harvard Research Reveals A Fun Way To Be More Successful, , Listen to the most important stories of the day