Self Control Is Like A Virus, You Can Catch It

the study showed how self control is contagious

A fascinating new study done at the University of Georgia regarding self control and the lack of it shows the importance of your surroundings because they said that self control is like a virus and thus it can be contagious. This should be of interest to people who are considering quitting smoking, losing weight or trying to modify any destructive or addictive behaviour.

The researchers led by Michelle van Dellen did a whole lot of different research projects with volunteers and asked them to either think of or write about different friends with good self control and poor self control. They saw that those people who visualised or wrote about friends with good self control were more likely to be able to choose a carrot over a cookie when offered and also were more likely to be able to hold on to a hand grip for longer. The opposite applied to those people who were told to visualise friends with poor self control.

Other tests done by VanDellen and her team showed that when men and women were randomly picked to write about their friends who had good self control they were quicker than the other groups at using words linked to self control the like discipline, effort and achievement.  She said that therefore just by hanging around with and exposing yourself to people who had good or bad self control would influence whether you would think about your own self control and thus the study showed how self control is contagious.

So, the next time you are thinking of lighting up a cigarette why not try and think of somebody you know who you admire and who possesses a lot of discipline and self control and try and not to think about anybody you know who is weak in this department. One of the best things to do when trying to quit is to avoid friends to smoke and who are likely to lead you astray and to hang around with those people who are healthy, who go to the gym and who place a big emphasis on fitness and health.

It’s contagious, so just hope you catch the nonsmoking vibe.