In continuing our series of articles about learning self-control skills, we address the role of our thoughts in the process. If we are honest with ourselves, many of the areas we want to increase our self-control in (diet, exercise, sleep, etc), we experience a certain amount of ambivalence. We want to change and be self-controlled, but we also push against the effort and discomfort that change will require. This can create quite a bit of internal tension, that our mind will

Modern Westerners, especially younger generations, mine included, are severely lacking in a primary virtue that is necessary for successful living on virtually all fronts of life. Call it willpower, call it self-control or self-discipline, call it self-directed behavior, any name we give it, if we examine ourselves, our society, and our culture thoughtfully, it does not take long to realize that we are facing a substantial deficit in rugged self-discipline and denial. Our c

If self-control is more than an innate trait, but rather a set of skills and habit of character, then we should be able to grow in self-control. But how do we do this? Surely there is more to increasing self-control and changing habits than merely "trying harder." It turns out that there are a lot of empirically supported practical skills and strategies that we can all learn to strengthen our ability to resist temptation, increase self-control, break old habits, and form new

Gordon MacDonald(1) makes a case for the correct establishment of priorities for cultivating an ordered inner spiritual life. As a minister and pastoral counselor, MacDonald points out that no matter how talented a an individual might be, without a well-developed, ordered, and prioritized inner life, it is only a matter of time before the person suffers from burnout or what he calls "sinkhole syndrome" - when the metaphorical ground of your life seems to drop out from under