Napoleon Hill wrote “lack of self control has brought grief to more people than any other shortcoming known to the human race.” Wow, thats powerful. Is it true? Have you ever experienced a time where you could have more restrained, but wasn’t and it brought about something bad?
This is one thing that separates the real men from the non-men, this thing called self-control. ALL successful people show a high degree of self-control, and control over their emotions. Men shouldn’t act out on emotion. There will always be times and events that make us emotional, but it is how we respond that determines the outcomes. If we don’t take the time to reflect, before we speak or act, then we could dig ourselves a ditch that is hard to get out of.
Did you know that all successful people rise above emotion, so they can think clearly? Emotion is such a powerful thing that can cloud our judgment, it colors our perception. Intelligent people know this, and accept that it is reality, and act accordingly. By acting accordingly, they try hard to be patient. Try it. Next time you find yourself getting emotional, before you act or speak, go somewhere and reflect for a few moments. Almost all the times you will not do that which you initially intended. How many times did our hasty reactions bring about more harm then good?
We as men have to be more balanced emotionally. Emotion is an intensified feeling that can become so strong be so strong that it masters our mind or judgement. The thing about to, is that people who lack this control, eventually become mastered by those who have it. In order to have the type of success we want, we have to have harmony with other people, and that requires lots of self-control. To really be powerful and successful means gaining control of self. It is self-mastery that allows to master our situation, environments, and to deal effectively with those around us.
You can start by first paying attention to your emotions. That is the first step, to be really aware of how your feeling. I have heard it suggested to make a list at the end of the day of everything that got you angry, and then reflect on what happened. Another thing to start doing is thinking 5 times before you speak. When you do that, almost all of the time you will say something different, if anything at all. Men shouldn’t be acting out all the time on emotion, women tend to be that way, and they look for a man who has control, to bring them that balance.
The improper handling of emotion does not allow us to grow beyond Self. It makes our reasoning subjective and clouds our judgment of individuals, circumstances and events. It makes us judge individuals, circumstances and events by how we are affected personally, thus we never see the bigger picture. Improper handling of Emotion makes us judge selfishly. Our great test today will be whether we can rise above emotion to begin to think and act more like real men.