Super self-control: not being a slave to habit

Chapter 22

Normally, most people need self-control to maintain coherent thinking or to think positively from time to time.Although I haven't done systematic research, I don't think that constantly switching tasks and increasing the speed of the brain is inherently unhappy.

It is widely agreed that self-control and cognitive effort are forms of brain work.Several psychological studies have shown that people who have a cognitive task and are under the influence of temptation are more likely to succumb to temptation.If someone asks you to memorize a series of 2-digit numbers in 7 minutes, and tells you that remembering these numbers is your first priority, and when you focus on these numbers, but someone is carrying For dessert, you have a choice: the love-hate chocolate cake, or the mixed fruit salad.Evidence shows that, despite having those numbers in your head, you're more likely to choose the tempting chocolate cake.

Of course, cognitive load isn't the only factor in diminished self-control.A few glasses of wine, or a night of no sleep can have the same effect.The self-control of early risers suffers in the evening, while the self-control of night owls suffers in the morning.Focusing too much on the outcome of completing a task can burden its short-term memory with meaningless thoughts, which in turn affects its overall performance.

This conclusion clearly shows that self-control requires concentration and effort.

Psychologist Roy Baumeister's group has repeatedly found that deliberate volition and self-control are hard work.If you have to force yourself to do something, and that task presents a new challenge, there will be little or no self-control.This phenomenon has been named ego depletion.

Ego depletion can even affect your heartbeat.In the experiment, when the subjects exercised psychological self-control, their pulse became less stable; people with relatively unstable pulse seemed to have more internal energy for self-control, because they performed well in the perseverance test. For people with a relatively stable heartbeat.There are also experiments that show that people with chronic physical pain lack willpower, because ignoring pain is a very willpower-consuming thing.

The self-depletion experiment has two revelations: First, your willpower is limited, and it will be consumed if you use it.[-]. The willpower energy you need to complete different tasks comes from the same account.

You might think that you have multiple accounts for storing willpower, one for thinking, one for dieting, and one for comforting loved ones.But willpower experiments show that unrelated activities, such as resisting chocolate and doing math problems, draw energy from the same account.

If you want to make several changes in your life at the same time, you may end up with none of them.For example, people who want to quit smoking are more likely to succeed if they focus on quitting smoking.If you try to drink less and eat less while quitting smoking, you're likely to fail at all three things—probably, because it takes too much willpower to do all three activities at the same time.Studies have also found that people who want to control their alcohol consumption are more likely to control their alcohol consumption on days when they have other activities that require willpower, compared with days when there are no other activities that require willpower.

If you keep falling short of the goals you set, instead of blaming yourself for lack of willpower, you should clear your to-do list - there are too many items on the list, and no one person has that much willpower to do it at the same time .If you're starting a new physical activity, don't control your spending at the same time.If you need to use energy for a new job, then this probably isn't the ideal time to quit smoking.Since you only have one supply line of willpower, competing activities on your “to-do list” can be exhausting and overwhelming.It's challenging enough to do one thing at a time and stick to it.

Self-control expert hot comment
If you multitask, you may be able to juggle for a while, but as your willpower wears out, you're increasingly likely to make serious mistakes.In the focus of your attention, there can only be one thing at a time, so give all your attention to thinking about one thing, and the rest will fade away, for your own future, This matter deserves your attention.

focused self-regulation

Concentration is not innate, it can be extended after training.Some people's attention can last for one hour, three hours, and some may even last three months, three years, or a lifetime.Then this focus is actually a habit, or it can really become a mental habit.However, assuming that this habit is consciously and continuously self-cultivated, it should achieve this goal.

Let me share with you some ways to stay focused, and choose what suits you to practice.

work and life separated
The bad habit of some office workers is to confuse life with work, such as booking travel tickets on the Internet while working, or constantly thinking about which bank to pay card fees, which bank to pay phone bills and other daily chores.It is recommended to write these things down and put them aside, concentrate on work first, and wait until you have free time to do it.

Remember, work is work, and distraction will only reduce your focus and increase the probability of mistakes in your work.

Know Weaknesses, Self-Restraint

There are also great individual differences in the reasons for distraction: easy to be curious about all kinds of new information, often diving online, chatting on QQ; not knowing what to do when colleagues interrupt; unable to get away from boredom and anxiety, and focus on the immediate Work……

Only by carefully finding out your most prominent weaknesses can you implement specific countermeasures.If you always browse various web pages and check email frequently while working, then you can try to turn off the Internet while processing important documents.

Get rid of bad emotions
If the reason for distraction and procrastination is emotional problems, such as pressure to achieve goals, unreasonable tasks, dissatisfaction with the boss, etc., you must first overcome the emotional problems.You can use positive imagination to imagine every link of the task completion, the more specific the better, and even the final success.

learn to pause
As the working hours lengthen, the concentration will naturally decrease.Even if we have the best intentions, we can't focus our attention anyway.At this time, we must learn to give up temporarily.Maybe moderate exercise is a good choice - climbing stairs, walking outside, etc.Generally speaking, exercise will help you relax and replenish oxygen supply to the brain, thereby improving concentration.

Grasp the peak of concentration

"Golden time to do golden things" is an important principle of time management.The so-called golden hour is the peak period of human energy.Although there are individual differences, in general, the individual's response, attention, and thinking agility are in a relatively optimal state at the peak of energy.

It is easier to improve efficiency by prioritizing the tasks to be dealt with, and putting the most important things in the "peak focus" time.

So, start by looking at what your "golden time" is, some in the morning and others in the evening.Using your peak focus for “what’s important” rather than being overwhelmed can also improve focus.

In addition, we can use activities such as drawing, embroidery, yoga, and word games to cultivate concentration and develop self-awareness.

Self-control expert hot comment
People with stronger concentration will be more intoxicated in what they are doing and enjoy the atmosphere.If you force yourself to pay attention, it is not true concentration.To do something, you must have your own will, so that you can really get nourishment in the process of doing it, so that you can continue to grow and be satisfied, which is the real purpose of training concentration.

How to test your concentration

If you want to know how good your concentration ability is, try using the "Medical Schulte Grid" to identify it!This test method is very simple. First, you randomly put 25 numbers into a 5×5 grid, as shown in the figure below.

During the test, you only need to click on their positions in sequence, and read aloud at the same time until the 25 numbers are clicked.You have to record time, and the shorter the time, the better the concentration.

The test begins

15
6
14
22
11
2
5
8
10
10
17
13
6
3
68
21
4
33
7
12
18
1
23
0
51
Test Results
7~12 years old: It is excellent if it can reach within 26 seconds, it is at an intermediate level within 42 seconds, and it is a problem if it reaches 50 seconds, and it will fail the exam.

12~14 years old: 16 seconds or more is considered excellent, 26 is an intermediate level, and the performance ranking will be in the middle or lower, 36 seconds is a problem, and the exam will fail.

Over 18 years old: It is best to reach the level of 8 seconds, 20 seconds is the middle level, which is the passing line for car drivers, and less than 20 seconds is a potential "road killer".

If you're not happy with your test scores, that's okay, just practice, practice, practice.Believe that, after practicing 5 times, the time it takes you to click all the numbers will be shorter and the level of concentration will be higher!

(End of this chapter)