Self-Regulation Isn't Just About Spoiling the Fun

Self-regulation is a internal goal management process where we override or preempt one goal in favor of another. By ‘goal’ I mean an outcome and the forces marshaled by that outcome: behaviors, emotions, and attention. Don’t do that, calm down, look the other way, think of something else. Self-regulation isn’t all negative. It’s not all about inhibiting one thing to allow another.

Self-regulation can also be a booster of energy, of motivation, and of action.

Self-regulation is more than “Don’t do it!” It’s also “Just do it!”

(Of course, self-regulation doesn’t always have to be an exclamation-mark experience).

References:

Hofmann, Wilhelm; Baumeister, Roy F.; Förster, Georg; Vohs, Kathleen D. Everyday temptations: An experience sampling study of desire, conflict, and self-control. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol 102(6), Jun 2012, 1318-1335. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0026545

Inzlicht, M., Legault, L. and  Teper , R. Exploring the Mechanisms of Self-Control Improvement Current Directions in Psychological Science August 2014 vol. 23 no. 4 302-307