ONE ESSENTIAL TOOL TO BETTER HEALTH

Guest Post by Lauren Howard

The one essential tool that will help you better your wellness over all is self-control. It’s essential because it helps to achieve health and wellness goals and to avoid impulses that could cause harm mainly to yourself but to others as well. When practicing self-control in your life it could increase your energy, increase longevity, get you off of your medication, lower your high blood pressure, help you lose weight, etc.

But self-control is not something you can just decide to start having. Self-control can be compared to a muscle; when exercised, it is fatigued after heavy use over a short term, but over a longer term with regular exercise you muscles become strengthened. You may already be aware of how a lack of self-control can lead to a result you don’t want. But as long as you live it’s never too late to do better, to be better. So why not start now?

WAYS TO HELP BUILD SELF-CONTROL    

1.  Know What is True and What Happens If You Ignore It (Understanding)

Jesus says, "And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:32). Truth sets us free! Free from eternal death, weakening mental hang-ups, and ailments of the body. It can be challenging sometimes to discern what is accurate information pertaining to health, but there is truth out there, it just requires perseverance.

2.    Desire What is Right (Motivation)

Self-control grows when we pay attention to “whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable” (Philippians 4:8). “Self-control depends in large part on how much we put God in control of our lives. The more we desire God’s will, the easier it is to choose it.”

3. Practice Makes…Better (Perseverance)

No matter how hard you try, there will be times when you want to make a good decision and you end up not carrying out that decision. You will stumble and fall, but remember to get back up and refocus. Be determined to make a good decision next time and continue to pray for a renewal of self-control within you.

FOOD AND DIET EXAMPLE    

Many know that drinking sugary drinks (i.e. soda, sweet tea, sport drinks) is not healthy. It can increase the risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and gout. If you have any of those diseases “let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food” you can choose to manage it by limiting or avoiding those drinks. You may need to find healthy drinks to replace that desire for Coke. Or try initially cutting the amount by half and slowly go down from there.

You can also try to tackle areas in physical activity and general lifestyle (i.e. smoking, sleep, and stress management). 

Self-control is an important key to success in achieving wellness: mentally, physically, spiritually, financially, etc. Choose to work on behaviors that pertain to you. And remember it takes more than just willpower for lasting self-control. It takes a power greater than yourself: "For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline” (2 Timothy 1:7, NLT). Stay encouraged!