[Tactical Panda]

No, I'm not an anti-stoic extremely compulsive hedonist.
I am a normal person asking you about what you think the nature of self control is.
My intention is to muse over the issue.

I'm not too serious about it at present, but that may change.

- - -

My current take on self control:

Self control is to not let appetite and circumstance compromise the will, and instead to let your nature remain controlled and consistent all all times in all circumstances, be the circumstance trying and tempting, or peaceful and calm.

• Foremost to self control is cold courage, rather than emotionally worked up and fragile confidence. Without this emotions and fears enslave you rather than being managed.
• Second is reason and awareness to be able to discern differences and innovate management options for your self. Without this undeveloped intelligence enslaves you when life presents challenges.
• Third is the will to disillusion and to balance resistance with patience. Without this there is no drive and means to endure and succeed - the self control is an illusion or figment of the mind's imaginings.
• Forth is clarity of understanding of the nature behind it. Only a measure of self control is present - absolute goals forfeit sound self management for irrational appetites. Without this only the idea of self control is controlled, rather than the real matter of who you are.

[Zsych]

I perceive the common understanding as:

Not being swayed by desires in the direction of immature, harmful, or excessive behavior; Able to stay on task at all times, despite distractions.

--

As for how to achieve self-control or discipline:
* I agree that the focused will (cold courage) is an easier means to self-control.
* I agree that clarity of understanding makes it easier to take definite action.
* Detachment from unimportant or distracting things - also useful.

I'm not sure I count adaptability as an inherent part of self-control, although its a part of achieving success. A balanced approach to life, that is not oriented towards emotional extremes is useful for maintaining the drive that brings success.

[Dung]

Self control is the ultimate power.

[Megalomania]

	Originally Posted by Dung To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
	Self control is the ultimate power.

I would like to refine this to say willpower. Self-control seems to connote abstaining from activities, willpower is more encompassing. The best thing any person can do for himself is to develop a strong willpower.

[thod]

The ancients identified three core virtues:

Courage -The ability to master ones fear and do what is right.
Moderation - The ability to identify and control ones desires.
Justice - To apportion to each that which is their due.

Self-control is a skill learned from practice. Studies have shown that it is even more important to success in life than intelligence. For who would not choose the less intelligent but sober man over the more intelligent but unstable to manage their business.

[davai]

Maximised will power correlates with super powers like firing laser beams out of eyes and throwing fireballs. One can measure their amount of will by seeing how long they can stop thoughts for. Ordinary human's will power is next to nothing even though it appears they have it in abundance, but this is all fantasy because of the dissociative human condition which tricks the mind into believing it is one distinct entity or 'I', when it's actually made of many fragmented parts or selves. And yes, will power can be developed by practice and is close to, if not already, being objectively measured in neuroscience (along with the subjective method mentioned earlier).

[Distance]

Self-control is the id being controlled by the superego.

[davai]

	Originally Posted by Distance To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
	Self-control is the id being controlled by the superego.

On one level, but not the whole story i don't think. You would have to prove that the superego is first an actual entity to be measured and then that this entity is under your control, the control of the self. In doing that, one has to determine what the self is. If that self is the super ego as follows from the above quoted, then it would be reasonable to query whether anything controls the superego.

[nettneu]

Isn't what people call self-control basically just a matter of having a consistent set of priorities?

For example, if someone can't make up his mind from one day to the next whether he gives higher priority to losing weight or to eating cream cakes, he gets accused of not having self-control.

[davai]

	Originally Posted by nettneu To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
	Isn't what people call self-control basically just a matter of having a consistent set of priorities? For example, if someone can't make up his mind from one day to the next whether he gives higher priority to losing weight or to eating cream cakes, he gets accused of not having self-control.

As with other examples like the super ego thing, i think it's self control on one level, but i doubt whether it really is self-control, or just the illusion of it. I don't disagree that what you're saying comes close to the common usage of the term, but i also think the common usage brings with it a presumption of control on the grand scale when even current neuroscience suggests we are more automatic than we like to believe. Who's to say that greater impulse control isn't a genetic/environmentally influenced thing beyond our control, and who decides on the impulse in the first place? It certainly isn't 'us', our 'I'. We can't even control our thoughts let alone the impulses that create them.

So my take on this at the moment, is that self control doesn't exist in the way people think it does, and that they're lying when they claim to posses this faculty.