Photo by Bahaa A. Shawqi
We’re All Crazy: Get Used to It, a book about the power of having the proper mindset by Jerold Skolnik, shows readers the importance of self-control in living a good life.
We’re All Crazy: Get Used to It, a book about the power of having the proper mindset by Jerold Skolnik, talks about the importance of viewing the world objectively despite the subjective craziness that is ongoing 24/7. Now, what does that actually mean? How does one view the world objectively when there is so much sensory input going through everyone screaming at them subjectively?
This is the thesis of Mr. Skolnik’s We’re All Crazy: Get Used to It.
Like a tightrope walker must rein in her fears to cross to the other side, people must learn how to keep their heads from blowing up!
By having the proper mindset, an individual learns self-control.
What is self-control? Self-control is the capacity for someone to manage their emotions and adjust them to respond optimally and adequately. It is the self-control that keeps you from shouting at your neighbor if they accidentally break your window. It is the self-control that keeps you from breaking down in the middle of an evening commute after a long and hard shift at work. It is the self-control that keeps you smiling if you’re working in a call center and have a very entitled client.
Self-control is what helps you avoid making socially unacceptable responses. It also helps you behave properly in otherwise stressful and chaotic situations. With a proper amount of self-control, an individual can maintain their health and rightly pursue their goals.
According to psychologists, self-control is knowing when to control behavior and avoid temptation; it is the ability to rein in desires and resist urges.
Why is self-control important?
What is the most common reason life becomes frustrating? It is when goals and objectives are not achieved–there can be plenty of decisions why that happens, but they normally all have to do with making the wrong decisions or being swept away with impulses. If you want to start living a good life, you have to learn how to rein in those impulses and start learning how to make good decisions.
This involves self-control.
When you learn self-control, you are more prepared to regulate your impulses and avoid being drawn into temptations. This allows you to commit to projects and goals with no distractions, allowing you a higher likelihood of succeeding because you are focused and dedicated.
Having an appropriate handle on your emotions is very important to deal with everyday situations. Sometimes, it is okay to let your emotions influence your decision-making, but more often than not, it is generally a good thing to be mindful of yourself and place reason above one’s own urges.
Here is how self-control helps with living a good life:
Improved capacity for making decisions. The hardest thing when making decisions is the involvement of emotions. Personal preferences, deeply embedded biases, and other arbitrary factors all play a part in how the thinking process works and, when deciding what to do, can be a great impediment to choosing the best course of action.
Resistance to enticements and seductions. Man is a slave to his desires, a person of note once said, and not without standing. It is said that humans only know two things: pain and pleasure. People tend to avoid pain at all costs, and they tend to pursue pleasure at all costs. While this might not mean much at the surface, the statement does paint a neat and accurate picture of how individuals tend to go about their day. But adhering strictly to this principle is sure to lead to bad results. That’s why self-control is needed to temper these urges and proclivities.
Increased mental awareness and focus. By reining in your base impulses and avoiding the path that leads to pleasure, you gain a clearer vision of things that helps you focus. Suddenly the path to success and improvement is laid out before you, and the fog that once obscured it is gone.
Healthier Interpersonal Relationships. With relationships, minor inconveniences pile up, and absent a proper and objective assessment of things, it will end. Self-control is needed to adequately engage with people and learn when and what to talk about.