Self-Control is Everything
If we want more of anything in life, we first have to control what we have. If we can’t control what we already have, how could we control any more than that? The first step in gaining control of any part of our environment is to gain control over ourselves. If we can’t control ourselves (our impulses, our order of things, our money, our time, our health), then we won’t be able to handle anything beyond what we have.
Many people want to control everything in life except for themselves. Many people are fooled into thinking if they can control other aspects of their lives, self-control will automatically occur. In reality, it is the opposite. When we gain self-control, other parts of our lives begin to fall into place automatically. When we discover the power of controlling ourselves, we find less struggle in all areas of life.
Too many people today are out of control because they don’t see the need for self-control. If you don’t control yourself, how can you expect to control any other aspect of life? The first step in gaining self-control is recognizing you aren’t using any of it in your life. If you are fooling yourself into believing you have self-control, but you don’t, you have already reached your “finish line” or maximum in life. If you want more of something, begin controlling yourself more.
Self-control and self-discipline might be cousins, but they aren’t the same thing. Self-discipline is developed as you begin eliciting self-control over your life. As you gain control, you start to live with more self-discipline. Both of these traits are necessary to build a powerful life that is accomplishing things.
Questions to ask yourself
What are areas of your life feeling out-of-control? What areas of your life lack order? What areas of your life lack anything? These are the areas you want to address first and decide from this point on; you will have self-control in disciplining yourself to correct these out-of-control areas.
Things don’t just happen to fall into place. It takes self-control to elicit the discipline in creating the life you want. Start with a small amount of self-control by telling yourself you will or will not do something. Make it a part of your personality to do or not do that thing. After doing this with a few things in your life and disciplining yourself to strengthen your self-control, you soon discover the power that God had planned for you. Everything seems to open up before your very eyes.
Learn to control yourself, and you will soon have much more control over your entire life.
