The myth of self-control

[Leigha]

Agree with all of that ^^

I'd say an unexpected byproduct of self-control is that you develop a sense of perseverance for when unforeseen trials come. If we're often giving in to our whims and desires of the moment, we will become weakened over time. Without even feeling it, until we're tested...something unexpected happens, and we lack the mental/emotional strength to work through it.

Kudos to you for quitting smoking!

[Syne]

Agree with all of that ^^

I'd say an unexpected byproduct of self-control is that you develop a sense of perseverance for when unforeseen trials come. If we're often giving in to our whims and desires of the moment, we will become weakened over time. Without even feeling it, until we're tested...something unexpected happens, and we lack the mental/emotional strength to work through it.

Kudos to you for quitting smoking!

Oh, I quit smoking over a decade ago, and it only seems like a big accomplishment compared to most people's struggles to do so. For me, it was largely just as simple as deciding my choice to quit was strong enough to last. That's one of the problems with things like Alcoholics Anonymous. The "one day at a time" mindset is one that chooses to make a weak decision from the onset, having to reaffirm it (and it's temporary nature) every day.

Quitting smoking definitely forced me to develop better, healthier coping mechanisms. Without a smoke break to decompress, you have to learn how to control your own stress level internally. And yeah, that makes you much more resilient than when you relied on a crutch.

[Leigha]

Agree with all of that ^^

I'd say an unexpected byproduct of self-control is that you develop a sense of perseverance for when unforeseen trials come. If we're often giving in to our whims and desires of the moment, we will become weakened over time. Without even feeling it, until we're tested...something unexpected happens, and we lack the mental/emotional strength to work through it.

Kudos to you for quitting smoking!

Oh, I quit smoking over a decade ago, and it only seems like a big accomplishment compared to most people's struggles to do so. For me, it was largely just as simple as deciding my choice to quit was strong enough to last. That's one of the problems with things like Alcoholics Anonymous. The "one day at a time" mindset is one that chooses to make a weak decision from the onset, having to reaffirm it (and it's temporary nature) every day.

Quitting smoking definitely forced me to develop better, healthier coping mechanisms. Without a smoke break to decompress, you have to learn how to control your own stress level internally. And yeah, that makes you much more resilient than when you relied on a crutch.

I’ve never smoked, but have a few friends who wrestled with quitting and they explained that there was a time when they weren’t addicted to the actual cigarettes anymore, rather the habits that were formed “around” smoking. They would turn to smoking in social situations or at work, they became accustomed to a few smoke breaks at certain times, socializing with other smokers. They felt that those side habits had to end in order for them to stick with kicking the habit for good.

So it goes with any bad habits, they usually spawn other habits that aren’t necessarily “bad,” but they become part of an overall unhealthy lifestyle.

[Syne]

In both conditions, participants paid more to have temptation removed, a finding with striking implications for the economic costs of stress on behavioral control.

Overall, the researchers found that the more tempting the food item, determined by participants' own ratings, the more these participants were willing to pay to avoid having to exert self-control, suggesting these costs reflect participants' aversion to resisting temptation.
https://www.scivillage.com/thread-10861-...l#pid45625

IOW, people were willing to pay to avoid exerting their own self-control. They don't sacrifice by exerting self-control. They sacrificed to avoid using self-control.