To have more self-control create systems that help you avoid tempting situations

One of the benefits of the systems and habits approach to improvement is that we start to create structures in our life that help us succeed.  We create an environment where we can flourish. 

This means that we don’t rely on self-control all the time.  Instead of buying our favorite snack food and hoping we resist the temptation of eating it, we simply avoid purchasing that particular snack.  Instead of putting ourselves in situations where constantly have to use willpower to stay on track we use habit to keep us on track and willpower to build habit.

In Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength by Roy F. Baumeister and John Tierney the authors say, “Successful people don’t use their willpower as a last-ditch defense to stop themselves from disaster, at least not as a regular strategy”

We all think that being successful with our goals means that we have to have super human willpower and self-control.  We assume that we will suddenly have motivation and then use effort to out-will temptation and reach our goals.

But this isn’t true.  In fact, this type of thinking usually just sets us up for failure.  Baumeister and Tierney go on to say, “people with strong self-control spent less time resisting desires than other people did.”

In other words, if we expect willpower and self-control to be the force driving us towards success we probably won’t be able to reach our goals.  But if we structure the systems and habits in life to drive us towards success, we will end up with strong self-control because we won’t be depleting it through constant temptation.   

The book goes on to say, “At first Baumeister and his German collaborators were puzzled.  Self-control is supposedly for resisting desires, so why are the people who have more self-control not using it more often?  But then an explanation emerged: These people have less need to use willpower because they’re beset by fewer temptations and inner conflicts.  They’re better at arranging their lives so they that they avoid problem situations.  This explanation jibed with the conclusion of another study, by Dutch researchers working with Baumeister, showing that people with good self-control mainly use it not for rescue in emergencies bur rather to develop effective habits and routines in school and at work.  The results of these habits and routines were demonstrated in yet another recent set of studies, in the United States, showing that people with high self-control consistently report less stress in their lives.  They use their self-control not to get through crises but to avoid them.”

The successful student isn’t the one that uses willpower to pull an all-night study session but the one that has built up the right study habits and studies over time. 

The successful executive doesn’t wait to start a project until the deadline approaches but starts it right away and continues to work through it over time.

The successful parent jumps in and disciplines their children consistently rather than waiting until they do something truly terrible.   

The person with a healthy weight didn’t get there by using a crash diet.  They do it by consistently making healthy choices in what they eat and what they do. 

There are a lot of misconceptions around self-control and willpower.  But research has shown that using willpower to build the right systems and habits in your life is the key to being able to succeed in almost any endeavor.