5 Easy Ways To Increase Mental Control

We call it mental control, self-control or self-determination. Whatever you call it, it is a very deceptive concept. Westerners have a true obsession with controlling everything, even themselves. It is impossible to reach a total level, but you can increase mental control.

One thing we can do is learn to manage our emotions in a more intelligent way. This includes increasing mental control over irrational impulses. We all have a kind of wild will within us. It helps us to be bold, but also plays tricks on us, especially when we are scared or angry.

There are ways to tame and channel the strong impulses that sometimes invade us. It is logical that they appear from time to time and take the helm for a few moments. When these feelings are always in control, however, it becomes a problem. This is when you need to stop and exercise mental control.

Here are some simple tips to help you improve your self-control:

We all think we know ourselves. However, this is not always true. Every person is unique and we can change depending on our mood and the situation we are in. People are so complex. Many of us cannot identify with our deepest motivations or describe our motivations for specific behaviors and habits.

It is not uncommon to hear expressions such as “I was not myself” when someone does something reprehensible. He was himself, however, but perhaps it was a side he did not know. By increasing one’s self-control, mental control will also increase. We know how we react to different situations and can be prepared.

Going through life on “autopilot” is not living. We go from one activity to the next, one behavior to another, not knowing why. We feel that life is just dragging us along and that we have no destination.

It is impossible to be aware of everything all the time: we would have to capitulate to our mental lives. We would collapse. What we can do, however, is stop on the road to consider where we are and whether we are on the road we really want to be on. These breaks give us higher awareness and increase mental control.

It is difficult to learn to stop an impulse. This is especially true if we were not taught the importance of impulse control as children. Maybe we come from violent or dramatic families. Therefore, we have learned to act without thinking when an intense emotion grips us.

Learning to regulate these invasive emotions and express them as we want is a big step forward. It is a habit that can be difficult to put into motion. Our brains, and especially the prefrontal cortex, are not fully developed until after adolescence. This means that our impulses will be difficult to control until then.

To control our emotions is to make a choice. Do we let our emotions run wild or do we force ourselves to stop and wait before we act? When we choose the latter, we earn a lot, especially in the field of social relations.

Everyone has experienced frustration (the feeling that reality does not meet our expectations or when we make an effort and fail). Some frustrations are small, others are gigantic. A love that never came to fruition, a job we did not get, a bill that can not be paid…

The reasons can be many. We are all immersed in a reality that forces us to constantly move on from frustrations. It’s normal. What matters is whether we accept this or not.

It is not easy to learn to accept, chew and digest frustration. If we do not learn it, however, it is easy for frustration to accumulate and turn into anger. This anger then takes over our hearts and dominates our senses and our lives. It is also easy for us to become people who are considered “hot-tempered” who explode to the smallest detail. Do not let your frustration lead to it.

Leaving our comfort zone comes with incredible benefits. One of the most important is that it helps us learn to be flexible and adaptable. This in turn stimulates the development of our intelligence, both logical and emotional. Almost as a side effect, we will also become more tolerant of our own emotions.

We are not machines. We do not have to “function” properly all the time. The problem of controlling the mind should always be seen as relative, especially when it generates a lot of pressure. We gain more control over our emotions as anxiety decreases, and especially as we learn strategies for expressing the energy behind our emotions in a healthy way.