Practice Self-Regulation for Success in Life
A critical aspect of personal and professional growth is learning to control your thoughts, emotions and behaviors. This aspect of life is known as self-regulation, which is the regulation of impulses, emotions, physiology and behaviors.
Self-regulation helps you:
- Express your emotions appropriately in response to situational demands.
- Change your behaviors toward achieving a desired end state.
- Control your physiology if your physical state is hindering your ability to perform.
- Have control over your thoughts instead of letting your thoughts control you.
Self-regulation begins with self-awareness. As you begin to develop knowledge of self, you gain insight into the strengths and limitations in your behaviors and thinking, which is either productive or counterproductive toward your desired end state. Once you identify these thoughts or behaviors, particularly the counterproductive patterns, you can game-plan, begin to regulate these behaviors and change them into more productive practices. Self-awareness is the key that opens the door, but self-regulation is when you act and walk through the door.
Two Ways to Practice Self-Regulation
Action-Planning — To action-plan, you must first know where you want to be by defining a desired end state. This can be personal or professional and include the desired behaviors you must align with. Next, you must be honest with where your behaviors are in relation to that goal or end state. From there, you can create an action plan. A great way to do that is by using the SMART steps. SMART stands for specific, measurable, action-focused, realistic and time-bound. Using this strategy ensures you create a plan that is actionable and measurable so you may check on yourself to ensure you’re making progress toward your goals.
Thought-Reframing — A way to begin practicing cognitive reframing is to reflect at the end of the day, training session or performance. You can use a journal or “thought log.” Journaling or logging your thoughts creates a space between you and your thinking. The next step is to look for and identify problem areas in your thinking. If any areas in your thinking are problematic, rewrite and reframe that thought into a more productive or positive thought. Continue with this process for as long as needed. When you practice reflection and reframing continually, you strengthen your ability to spot check your thoughts in the moment.
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