Self Control

Self-control is the ability to control oneself, in terms of having mastery over one’s desires and appetites. Those who are self-controlled can temper what they want, to ensure that they do not over- or under-indulge.
St Thomas Aquinas, a medieval philosophy and theologian, said that self-controlled people were able to ‘preserve their lives’. In other words, they were able to do the right things to keep themselves healthy and happy.

The basic premise of self-control is the use of reason to control instinct, whether that instinct is for something bad or against something that is good for us.
In an age of instant gratification, it is perhaps an unusual and under-valued quality but, nonetheless, one worth striving for.
You will know that you need to exercise self-control when you feel either:
Overwhelming desire to do something pleasurable, which you know is not good for you, especially in excess; or
Disgust at the idea of doing something, especially if you know it is good for you.


Self-control is not about total abstinence, it’s about finding the right balance for you.
There is an old saying that ‘a little bit of what you fancy does you good’, and provided that it is not illegal or actually damaging, that is almost certainly true. Denying yourself what you need is as bad as over-indulging. It will certainly quickly remove quite a lot of joy from your life.
You can find the right balance by thinking through your desires using the questions above, and considering what ‘too little’, ‘too much’ and ‘just right’ would look like.
Once you know, you can strive for ‘just right’ and you are well on the way to developing self-control.