Strengthen Your Self-Control

by Lucy Miller

A Fitness and Nutrition Expert

No matter what time of year it is there always seems to be nonstop temptations - from endless ice-creams to reasons to skip your usual workouts – it's wise to get a plan in place and make sure willpower wins over giving in. 

by Maureen Cromey

An Acupuncturist and Chinese Medicine Expert

“I can resist everything except temptation” - Oscar Wilde

Life is a journey and as we move through it we have plans to progress and improve.  From the moment we open our eyes we are working on improving our lot.  We try hard to crawl then walk.  We insist on feeding ourselves and then learning to speak gabbling incoherently until eventually we are understood.  

by Toby Maguire

A Taoist Master

In order to strengthen your will power, it is important to know a little about how the mind works.

Our brains are made up of billions of neural pathways which are created by repeating a thought process over and over again. These neural pathways enable us to learn things, and when we repeat certain actions or modes of behaviour many times, they become automatic, that is, they are performed without really concentrating or paying much attention to them. Remember how difficult it was when you first learnt to ride a bicycle or learnt to swim? However, once the mind has mastered those tasks, they can be performed with almost no thought or concentration whatsoever because they have been ingrained in what is known as the subconscious mind.

by Angie Newson

A Yoga and Pilates Expert

Practising yoga improves our self-control, our willpower and our ability to overcome any bad habits. Yoga enhances self-discipline - practising with precision and control of how we place our body on the mat, in turn improves the mind, our thinking, our outlook, our attitude, and studies show that being kind to ourselves and to others also improves our willpower!  Learning breathing exercises enhances our concentration so we become more centred, more present and more focused.  Being 'in the now' - although often challenging to do - and taking a few moments before the start of our practise or workout or even on the pitch for a game of football, will help us become more successful in whatever we set out to do. Think of the successful tennis players who sit quietly before the match and in between the games and sets to become present and focused. 

by Dr. Sarah Brewer

A Nutritionist and Doctor

Achieving your life goals requires motivation, self-control and resilience. Although these skills don't always come easily, like any skill they can be learned. Whether you want to lose weight, eat a healthier diet, take more exercise, gain a new qualification or write that novel, you need to keep at it. Set little goals that are easily achieved – to lose one pound a week, eat an extra portion of fruit or vegetables per day, have an extra alcohol-free day per week, buy a pedometer to start recording the number of steps you take, or write 500 words per day. These little goals slowly bring you close to your big goal and allow you to feel good about yourself.

by Steve Halsall

A Celebrity Personal Trainer

I guess we are all victim of our 'naughty side' and our 'self-indulgent side', where we throw caution to the wind and do the things we know we shouldn't. 

I'm at odds with the whole idea of living some puritanical existence where self-control becomes self-obsession, this does not appeal. There is a middle ground in all of our lives where the angel and devil meet and shake hands. I guess it is all boils down to understanding that are you happy with the way you look and feel? If you are not then you have to accept that all you have done to this point has not served you and you simply have to change something. I believe strongly that human will is a powerful thing and we all just have to fit the right will into the right situation. It takes willpower to eat a bucket of Kentucky as much as it does to eat a green salad with dressing on the side. It is all the same. Willpower is willpower. What you have to remember is that improving self-control is shaking up the inherited behavioural systems and actions you do sub-consciously and making a stand within your self.