Readers,
Self control is a relatively simple, yet priceless value. Self control is a highly motivated act of, emm, well I guess you could say just generally getting, or perhaps maintaining (in that case, having), your shit together.
Think about the last time you were tempted to do something that really, you shouldn't do or otherwise generally wouldn't do when you're feeling at your normal best - skipping that evening gym session, eating a bar of chocolate at 1am because you can't sleep, staying up that extra hour knowing you've got an early start ahead of you. If you actually take a second to stop and put things into a realistic context, it appears that everyday of our lives, albeit a few exceptions, we find ourselves in quite the tricksy situation - the situation of routines, and more accurately perhaps, the idea of maintaining such routines in order to feel we have at least some sort of control over certain aspects in our lives. We are constantly challenged to keep up with the 'fast paced' life so many of us seem to lead, constantly challenged with the factor of commitment and the consequences if such commitments are broken, constantly challenged to adhere to the 'do's and don'ts' of typical modern living. Life, needless to say, is exhausting.
There's a line in a song that perfectly summarises what I'm trying to say. The line is this - "you shoot across the sky like a broken arrow, but it's so hard to keep yourself on the straight and narrow."
So let's stop for a second and translate the aforementioned into a more straightforward perspective. So, in this case, it seems that we're all shooting across the sky at a million miles an hour in so many different directions, in other words, we're all doing our thing, whatever that 'thing' may be - career, school, college - you name it, we're doing it, but nevertheless, along the way on this so-called 'shooting' path we apparently lead, we at some point inevitably face a constant battle between what we'd all like to do and what we unfortunately sometimes have to do. Big difference.
You see that's the thing I've come to realise about these sorts of concepts - the fact that they're often so ridiculously similar is what in reality, actually makes them so unimaginably different.
I guess the 'traditional' way, (if I can call it that), that many of us think about these types of situations is sort of like a ying and yang context, a black and white picture, something very straightforward - I guess that it's not exactly inaccurate to call it a dual mind-like process, in which we're often motivated by temptations to please ourselves, and the other half of us has to try and then reinforce the factor of control to soften the blow and keep us on the apparently "straight and narrow" path of life we are constrained within. It's a case of the I'd versus the superego. Somehow, somewhere in our minds, these two forces seem to be constantly fighting it out in a 'winner takes all' battle for superiority and control over our behaviour, the impressions we give off and the attitudes to life that we have. This topic is so compelling simply because of how real it is and not to mention how easily it can be related to many aspects in anyone's everyday life. I mean, who hasn't had the experience of being in "two minds"? - the most obvious example, in my life anyway, is that all-too constant and frequently occurring nightmare of trying to drag myself out of bed in the morning. A struggle, needless to say, felt by each and every individual who knows the meaning of hard work.
So why is self control so important? What is it about self control and this factor in particular that has such a big impact upon our lives?
...
I don't think there's much debate that primarily, and perhaps above all, having some sort of self-control and adhering to this 'challenge' of staying on the straight and narrow is essential for success in both our personal and professional lives, no matter what these lives consist of. When I stop and think about some of the traits of some of the most successful people on this earth, or simply people I admire as individuals, their ability to restrain themselves from acting, speaking or simply 'being' a particularly unskilled way is undoubtedly pretty high on that 'good things to not do' list.
So, the straight and narrow 'challenge' - tougher than it appears or in actuality, a fairly simple concept? Is it even a challenge at all? A question I apparently keep posing to myself as my life grows longer, and I grow up.
When I sit down and think about the levels of self control we have to cultivate, it seems that it may just be one of the greatest challenges and relationships we face, that is to say, the relationship we have with ourself. It's safe to say that the act of self control has got me thinking rather intently about relationships in general. There are those that open you up to something new and exotic, those that are old and familiar, those that bring up lots of questions, those that bring you somewhere unexpected, those that bring you far from where you started, and those that bring you back. But the most exciting, challenging and significant relationship of all? Well, that's the one you have with yourself.
Mould that relationship with yourself into something profitable and worthwhile, oh, and add that extra little something on top to make the you you love just that bit more sensational. Don't forget to fall in love with yourself first.
Afterall, "if you can find someone to love the you you love, well, that's just fabulous." - Carrie Bradshaw, Sex and The City.
Stay in control and owe it to that relationship you have with yourself to firmly remain grounded on that straight and narrow path of life - you just never know what it's going to bring.
L xo
You see that's the thing I've come to realise about these sorts of concepts - the fact that they're often so ridiculously similar is what in reality, actually makes them so unimaginably different.
I guess the 'traditional' way, (if I can call it that), that many of us think about these types of situations is sort of like a ying and yang context, a black and white picture, something very straightforward - I guess that it's not exactly inaccurate to call it a dual mind-like process, in which we're often motivated by temptations to please ourselves, and the other half of us has to try and then reinforce the factor of control to soften the blow and keep us on the apparently "straight and narrow" path of life we are constrained within. It's a case of the I'd versus the superego. Somehow, somewhere in our minds, these two forces seem to be constantly fighting it out in a 'winner takes all' battle for superiority and control over our behaviour, the impressions we give off and the attitudes to life that we have. This topic is so compelling simply because of how real it is and not to mention how easily it can be related to many aspects in anyone's everyday life. I mean, who hasn't had the experience of being in "two minds"? - the most obvious example, in my life anyway, is that all-too constant and frequently occurring nightmare of trying to drag myself out of bed in the morning. A struggle, needless to say, felt by each and every individual who knows the meaning of hard work.
So why is self control so important? What is it about self control and this factor in particular that has such a big impact upon our lives?
...
I don't think there's much debate that primarily, and perhaps above all, having some sort of self-control and adhering to this 'challenge' of staying on the straight and narrow is essential for success in both our personal and professional lives, no matter what these lives consist of. When I stop and think about some of the traits of some of the most successful people on this earth, or simply people I admire as individuals, their ability to restrain themselves from acting, speaking or simply 'being' a particularly unskilled way is undoubtedly pretty high on that 'good things to not do' list.
So, the straight and narrow 'challenge' - tougher than it appears or in actuality, a fairly simple concept? Is it even a challenge at all? A question I apparently keep posing to myself as my life grows longer, and I grow up.
When I sit down and think about the levels of self control we have to cultivate, it seems that it may just be one of the greatest challenges and relationships we face, that is to say, the relationship we have with ourself. It's safe to say that the act of self control has got me thinking rather intently about relationships in general. There are those that open you up to something new and exotic, those that are old and familiar, those that bring up lots of questions, those that bring you somewhere unexpected, those that bring you far from where you started, and those that bring you back. But the most exciting, challenging and significant relationship of all? Well, that's the one you have with yourself.
Mould that relationship with yourself into something profitable and worthwhile, oh, and add that extra little something on top to make the you you love just that bit more sensational. Don't forget to fall in love with yourself first.
Afterall, "if you can find someone to love the you you love, well, that's just fabulous." - Carrie Bradshaw, Sex and The City.
Stay in control and owe it to that relationship you have with yourself to firmly remain grounded on that straight and narrow path of life - you just never know what it's going to bring.
L xo
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