A Surprising And Pleasant Way To Gain More Self-Control

Any guesses here?!?!

It’s gratitude.

Researchers (Dickens and Desteno, 2016) in the journal, Emotion, found that being grateful helps to increase self-confidence and reduce impulsive behaviour.

Participants in this study were asked to use daily gratitude boosters over the course of 3 weeks and to record their emotional states.

After 3 weeks, people were asked if they would rather have $30 now or $50 in the future.

Results showed that people who had higher levels of gratitude in their daily lives were better able to delay gratification (i.e., pick the $50 at a later date), which demonstrates more patience and less impulsivity.

Take Home Message

Delaying gratification isn’t just simply an exercise in discipline, as gratitude is clearly one factor that can impact self-control. So, the next time you are faced with a situation where it would be beneficial to delay gratification (e.g., buying something expensive before you have the money, eating something unhealthy before it’s a cheat day, etc.), I challenge you to take 5 minutes to focus on something you are grateful in your life. If you need help this, please read our Gratitude Checklist, 25 Ways To Be More Grateful In Your Daily Life (internal link).