Goal

Today, we’re going to review the importance of emotional control and willpower.

Importance of Emotional Control

Learn more about yourself through your emotions

Emotions are our gut reactions to situations. Although powerful, our passions can quickly lead us down bad roads if we don’t control them. For example, being angry at something is fine but responding destructively is counterproductive and dangerous.



Through awareness, we can better understand ourselves and regulate our behavior. This is crucial to advancing in life and improving ourselves as well as earning our independence. Through proper understanding and regulation, we can make better judgments as well as produce healthier outcomes.

With proper emotional control, we’ll also respond to the world better and be in the best position to help others. For example, if someone is angry at us, we may feel anger in return, but with proper emotion control, we can respond with compassion. This can de-escalate the situation which will allow us to help the other person or safely disengage safely from them.

Lastly, we are free from the ups and downs of the world. Society has tragedies, violence, politics, and other horrible events that can elicit a sharp response. We should feel sadness, anger, and fear at these events but with control over ourselves, we can respond productively by assisting others, bolstering our own lives, and protecting the ones we love.



For example, I hate the current state of race in this country, especially with the rise of black/white supremacy. However, I do not allow my anger, which is justified, to force me to lash at everyone and everything. Instead, I take stock of who’s the real enemy, support and protect the victims, and build my strength and abilities so I can fight against those who use fear and violence to harm others.

Importance of Willpower

Willpower is essential to completing the tasks we set for ourselves as individuals.

Willpower is the ability to continue any task we are currently engaged. With strong grit, we can push through distractions and reach our end goal.

Resoluteness is built by delaying gratification. By waiting patiently for something bigger and better instead of taking the easy reward now, we develop our willpower.

Grit is challenging to build. However, people with strong willpowers have a greater focus on what they want and can achieve it. Additionally, people with great resoluteness can resist the pull of meaningless things such as the latest knick knack, crippling debt, or pointless addiction.

Self-control is crucial to becoming an individual. Without a strong will, we often fail to succeed at our goals. Becoming an individual requires that we’re able to stay focused and accomplish our goals. Build willpower, and soon, you’ll acheive your goals.

Emotional Control and Willpower

emotional control and willpower

Emotional control and willpower – the pillars of greatness

Through emotional control and willpower, we can set firm foundations. These foundations, along with a an appreciation of our legacy and a deep understanding of virtues, allows us to achieve our goals and develop our talents.



Thank you for reading this review. I’m going to try to better structure my blog posts going forward as well as include “summing up” series such as these.

Actionables

Read the posts in the willpower/emotional control series

Read articles that cover willpower and emotional control

Questions to revisit

  1. How do you rank your emotional connectedness? Are you good at identifying your emotions on the day to day or fairly terrible at it?
  2. Have you ever had a moment in your life that threw your emotional control for a loop? What was that moment and how did you respond?
  3. Which emotion do you wish you had better control over? Anger? Sadness? Why that emotional in particular?
  4. When feeling emotional, try asking yourself “What do I feel?” followed by “Why do I feel this way?” Does this help?
  5. What passions do you feel the most? Why do you think that is?
  6. How do you think emotions and willpower are connected?
  7. In the past week, when did your willpower fail? What do you wish you could have done differently?
  8. When was a moment where you had a surge of willpower and a passion to accomplish anything?
  9. What exercises can you think of to regain you will when you feel unable to continue?

Please remember that it’s important to do the actionables. You’re not on this earth to simply read but to do. To become an individual, you must act more than you consume.

*Image credit to Unsplash.