Self-Control Exercises: 10 Evidence-Based Coaching Practices

Describe almost anything you are working through and IX Coach finds the practices whose real-world fit is closest. For Self-Control Exercises, these are the strongest matches in the current practice library.

Practices that may help

1. Remove temptations from the environment rather than resisting them
   People with good self-control succeed by avoiding temptation, not by resisting it.
   Self-Regulation Failure and Ego Depletion
2. Remove or modify the cue rather than resist the response
   Eliminating or changing the environmental stimulus is more effective than relying on willpower to resist it.
   Stimulus Control, Made Practical
3. Remove the option entirely
   Delete the temptation from your environment so resisting it is never required.
   Precommitment Devices (Ulysses Contracts)
4. Engineer the temptation out of reach
   Don’t out-wait the temptation — arrange your environment so the choice rarely arises.
   Delayed Gratification, Made Practical
5. Reduce the demand on willpower through environment design
   The most reliably self-disciplined people resist temptation less — they encounter it less.
   The Willpower Instinct: What Self-Control Actually Is
6. Activate the pause-and-plan response before acting
   A brief pause interrupts automatic impulses and hands control back to the prefrontal cortex.
   The Willpower Instinct: What Self-Control Actually Is
7. Trust Self 2 — give the body an image, not instructions
   Set the target in vivid sensory terms and then let the body execute without conscious direction.
   The Inner Game: Quieting Self 1
8. Redirect attention away from the reward
   You do not resist the temptation by staring at it — you win by looking elsewhere.
   Delayed Gratification, Made Practical
9. Use positive emotions to restore self-control capacity
   Induce positive affect after a demanding self-control period to accelerate recovery.
   Self-Regulation Failure and Ego Depletion
10. Respond to willpower failures with self-compassion
    Self-criticism after lapses undermines future self-control; self-compassion predicts better recovery.
    The Willpower Instinct: What Self-Control Actually Is

Does this sound like the set of challenges you might be facing?

• I keep trying to white-knuckle my way past the same temptations sitting right in front of me, losing more often than I win→
• I burn through all my willpower resisting the temptation that’s sitting right in front of me→
• The thing that derails me is always one tap or one arm’s reach away, and I lose to it the same way every single day→
• The temptation is right there every single day→
• The junk is right there in the cupboard and the app is one tap on my home screen, and I lose the same little battle a dozen times a day because the temptation is constantly in front of me→

Describe your situation in your own words to search the complete practice library.