Best Self-control Quotes

"Recalibrating the relationship between outside events and internal responses, which is the job of the insular, is actually something that's under our control."

Dr. Andrew Huberman

"Every time you fight off an urge and you don't go back to that thing that had negative consequences on your life or your soul, you get bigger, and those urges get smaller."

"I have ultimate control over my behavior, thoughts, and feelings."

"Self-control could be an evolutionary adaptation."

"Understanding that you have an autonomic nervous system that has a seesaw-like architecture conceptually anyway, and that you have the ability to control it, opens up the opportunity to control other major pain points for most people."

"You become the alchemist of your own chemistry."

"You start to fall in love with discipline...because you no longer have those urges."

"Master your mind and gain psychological distance from the noise in your head."

"Willpower is the skill of disobeying your lizard brain."

"A lot of the things that plague us are under our control."

"Delayed gratification is the key. Not living in the instant pleasures of today but rewarding ourselves in healthier, happier ways."

"If you're halfway through a doughnut and you put the second half down, that's a victory."

"It's a lot easier to just show up and make the goal to be seen rather than to be accepted because that's who you are and it's in your control."

"I have the power and dominion over my own life."

"I refuse to succumb to depression. I refuse to collapse mentally and give up. I will know the only person who can control my mind is me."

"It's so easy to make the Positive Choices... I have not binged even one time."

"Willpower is the skill of resisting desires. Now, we desire all kinds of things. We desire junk food, porn, video games."

"I controlled the [expletive] out of my social media usage...I want to be really purposeful when I'm spending time on there."

"You have power over your mind, not events. Realize this, and you will find strength."

"I've had junk food my addictions around me all the time, and it's because I used willpower."

"Once a man learns how to control his pleasures, he also masters how to control his pain."

"Don't give your feelings and emotions so much power. Not every emotion is a cue to do something."

"Mindfulness tends to give you more of a gap between the spark and the flame."

"Mindfulness gives you space between the spark and the flame."

"Empowerment simply means that you are back in the driver's seat of your life."

"The more that you can increase the time between impulse and action, the better off you'll be."

"The only thing I can control is me. Instead of worrying about who else is causing you problems, worry about what you can do to yourself to improve your station."

"Mastering others is strength; mastering yourself is true power."

"The wise man, the truly philosophical man, is the man who is entirely in control of his own soul, who takes utter and complete moral responsibility for his actions and is indifferent to everything else."

"No one is fit to rule who is not first in control of themselves."

"The moment you start thinking about what these events involved, the temptation to become bitterly angry and passionate is strong, but I try to be dispassionate about it."

"The pleasure drive may be low or it may be high, but it may not be gratified."

"It's better to marry than to burn with passion, but it's also better to learn to control your passion than it is to marry an idiot."

"I must keep my emotions in check, lest my powers rage out of control."

"Self-control is solely a matter of thought control." - Napoleon Hill

"The only thing that we ever have control over is ourselves."

"The ultimate benefit of doing meditation is to get this drunk crazy monkey in line, get it under control."

"The last of the human freedoms is the ability to control one's internal circumstances."

"This is a beautiful moment for you to be able to start creating an emotional plan so that way you can have that power and control over the things that you say and the things that you do."

"The weakest man on the planet is a man that cannot control his emotions."

"Serenity, calmness of mind is one of the beautiful jewels of wisdom. It is the result of long and patient effort in self-control."

"The ability to murder without remorse is embedded in all of us, but some of us are able to resist it."

"It's time to take back control of your life."

"A person without self-control is like a city with broken down walls."

"It's better to have self-control than to conquer a city."

"Personal power is the feeling of being in control of our internal resources, to bring our skills and abilities forward, to be the most generous, open-minded version of ourselves."

"I'm in control of my time, I am in control of what I do with my life. What is essential, what is nonessential."

"You need to add something or subtract something that makes it harder, not easier, to engage in or resist a behavior."

"You don't want to play their game. You know what's powerful? You deciding to take your power back."

"Fear is real. You can't control the feelings that are going to rise up in your body... but you can always control what you think, and you can always make a decision about the actions you're going to take."

"If you take the six steps of the meta moment seriously, you can avoid the 12 steps later."

"The most powerful lesson you can learn is how to master your feelings."

"When we consume the type of ultra-processed, hyper-palatable foods, self-control is nearly impossible."

"Mind you speak about reflection, introspection, self-control, discipline; emotions left on their own are impulsive, reflexive, reactive."

"Self-discipline is the ability to control one's feelings and overcome one's weaknesses."

"Don't let nobody control you. Don't let emotions control you because the devil's sitting there like a puppet master, rolling the screen, making you go left and right."

"When we say that a person is disciplined, what we're talking about in Layman's Terms is that they can take action regardless of how they feel."

"Between stimulus and response, there's a pause, and in that pause lies a choice, and in that choice lies our freedom."

"If you can introduce a few seconds between impulse and action, you will have given your patients choice."

"Keeping a promise to yourself will boost your mood and make you feel more in control."

"Keep calm and composed. If you let yourself panic, you're likely going to get in trouble."

"I can't control how people perceive me; I can only control how I react."

"Developing or applying self-control to focus on the highest and best use to do that with enthusiasm to get more to have more returns."

"The only real poverty is in the mind, and no one can control one's mind but himself."

"Take control of your life and earn for yourself the stability, security, and love that you desire so much."

"The wise who control their body, who control their tongue, the wise who control their mind, are indeed well controlled."

"Know thyself, control thyself, give yourself."

"Self-respect is about who controls your happiness in life."

"The mind is an instrument, don't let it play you."

"Your brain is the most powerful weapon in the world. You have to master it, not let it master you."

"You cannot control other people; take control over what you can control, which is yourself."

"Master the art of deferred gratification, so you can get those dollars working for you."

"We can control our own behaviors, we can get a lot better: if we escape the willpower trap."

"You want to have command of your life, you must have control over your thoughts."

"Self-control and discipline...is the key to success; it's the key to everything."

"Beliefs about willpower determine the impact of glucose on self-control."

"Only the disciplined ones are free in life. If you are undisciplined, you are a slave to your moods, you are a slave to your passions."

"Only when you rule your mind, your mind won't fool you."

"You cannot control the actions of others, you can only control yourself. So you must work on yourself."

"Evil doesn't have self-control. It always overplays its hand."

"The kids who delayed gratification... went on to be way more successful and way less likely to do bad habits like drugs, crime, casual sex."

"We can't always control the thoughts that pop up in our head... but what we do have control over is how we engage with those thoughts once they surface."

"You can become the true master of your own thinking within that domain."

"Wanna be perfect? Perfection is not just about control, it's also about letting go."

"We human beings have this greed. Allah says at the end of Surah Al-Hashr, whoever can be protected from the deep greed they have inside of themselves, those are the people that have attained ultimate success."

"Freedom is when you have control over your mind and your will."

"That illusion of self-control is the very jail cell in which depression exists."

"You are the person that is truly in control of yourself...if you put your mind to something, you can accomplish it."

"You don't need to chase every single vice you have."

"When you're able to accomplish some of these fasting achievements, it does give you a sense of control and empowerment in all aspects of life."

"Lack of self-control is something which we shouldn't take lightly."

"Walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh."

"Self-control is essentially like a personality characteristic... but this group of researchers basically discovered that it's not a fixed aspect of who you are as a person, but a diminishing resource."

"What we basically figured out is there are two things that severely severely drain your self-control: the first is emotional regulation, and the second thing which reduces self-control is stress."

"If you want to do that for your life and develop self-control, what you really need to do is actually not just do it... instead, all you need to do is pay attention to your internal conflict and the longer you can be aware of it, the more in control you will be."

"Self-control is an important thing in the lives of people, and without it, evil will abound."

"Sometimes, in order to be gentle, you have to have self-control."

"Ego is like the Phoenix. If you don't know how to control it, it can destroy everything around you. But once mastered, it can be your greatest strength."

"Self-control is a really central trait in human life."

"I control my will, not just for now but over time, which makes you a master of self."

"You don't allow other people's behavior to be the controlling thing of your emotions in your life."

"Psychology's found really two traits that seem to make you better off in almost every sphere they've been studied in. And one is intelligence and one is self-control."

"Self-control can really be improved even in adulthood."

"The lifelong benefits of self-control are immense, and extremely diverse."

"Self-control seems to work like a muscle. So after you use it, it gets tired, but if you use it regularly, it does get stronger."

"People with good self-control break their bad habits and they form good habits."

"People with high self-control...they didn't get themselves into situations where they had problem desires that they had to resist."

"To be able to control and master yourself like this is truly liberating."

"You may be brilliant, but without self-control, you're finished."

"If you cannot defeat what is controlling you, what is controlling you will defeat you."

"Self-control is one of the most important concepts to understand in your life; it's one of the most important contributors to your success and happiness in life."

"Your life's work is to develop self-control, to develop self-mastery."

"The quickest way to build self-control is to follow through on your disciplined practices."

"If you can delay gratification, you are wired for success."

"I actually call that won't power, the ability to not do something even when every cell in your body says I want to eat this or smoke this or drink this."

"Self-control is like a muscle. The more you use it, the stronger it gets."

"Surfing the urge can give us a lot of willpower for the things where we need willpower."

"The secret for success in this coming year or any other year is self-control."

"It's easier for a man to control the universe than it is for him to control himself."

"Willpower is really your ability to control your own impulses."

"It's only when you can control your own emotions that you're able to take a potentially negative situation or person and turn it into a win for everyone involved."

"Happiness is a state of mind which we ourselves have the power to control, and that control lies with our thinking."

"Happiness, health, and strength are within our control."

"The prefrontal cortex is basically an area of the brain that says yes or no, not now to other brain regions in order to suppress action."

"Detachment is the art of experiencing our feelings without letting them control us."

"By fasting, we control the passions of the body to free up our souls, our spirits. The flesh is not to control the spirit; the spirit is to control the flesh."

"The ability to control your internal environment with your will is the mastery of this game of life."

"What will change your life is learning how to control and direct your own mind and emotions."

"The wise man is he who controls his self and works for the life after death."

"Investing is a crucial aspect of building wealth and securing your financial future."

"A fool vents all his feelings, but a wise man holds them back."

"Taking a moment between receiving and reacting can be your lifesaver in so many areas."

"I live my life in a way that none of those things control me; I am in control, and that brings me more freedom than anything else."

"You've got to learn detachment and not let your feelings dictate how you behave."

"A person without self-control is like a house with its doors and windows knocked out."

"Implement the 30-day Rule...I wait and have kind of like a cooling down period where I can think about it."

"Quiet your body periodically, tell it to be still and relax; it has to obey you."

"Alexander, as it would seem, considering the mastery of himself a more kingly thing than the conquest of his enemies, neither laid hands upon these women nor did he know any other before marriage except Barsine."

"It's a matter of controlling the mind and the body. You know, truly believing that you can do it, and then controlling the body to accept whatever it is."

"At the end of the day, we're all going to go out alone. We're all on our own journey, and the only ones that can control our journey are you and you alone."

"We must learn to walk in the spirit so that we will not fulfill the desires of the flesh."

"Through it all, he doesn't make excuses, he doesn't give in to fear, he understands that his life is in his control."

"The beautiful thing about the brain is that we are able to condition it to think whatever we want it to think and do whatever we want it to do."

"Do you know why I'm unstoppable? Because I only control what I can control and don't care about all the things I can't."

"The only person you can control is yourself; you can't control anyone else."

"At the end of the day, you always have control over you, the decisions you make, and the actions you take."

"A man's foes are they of his own household, and he who would be useful, strong, and happy must learn to command his desires and to say with authority what thoughts he shall admit into the mansion of his soul."

"You can't control the world, you can't control other people, you can only control yourself."

"Your dreams are just as hungry as your demons; just remember to feed the right one."

"The greatest gift I give people is to not respond."

"It takes a degree of strength to simply not destroy yourself with a wayward thought."

"Remember that you are in control of your actions, thoughts, and behaviors."

"Discipline is the restraint of your attention. Where you tell it to go, that's it."

"Once you find that your source of happiness and control in your life is internal, you can work through any problem that comes up against you."

"The Bible is a Liberty book; it's all about self-control and how you treat others."

"You are in charge of your energetic environment."

"Set a guard over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips."

"I want to become the master of the person who knows how to excuse themselves, take a deep breath, and not spew reaction all over the room."

"Be angry, and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your wrath."

"He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who captures a city."

"Your current situation is not in charge of your future destination."

"You're not always going to fix what's inside your mind, but you can get control of the mind as a whole."

"A lot of what we mean by adulthood is 'I can control my dopamine. I've learned to never trust the dopamine and I've learned to control it.'"

"This is meditation: when you win this war, you will control yourself."

"A fool gives full vent to his anger but a wise man keeps himself under control."

"Self-control is, if I have money, I spend it."

"In an obvious and extreme case, we know that strong addictive narcotics can affect our behavior and decisions in ways we won’t have the strength to control, so most of us voluntarily decide to just keep them out of our own reach."

"The fool vents all his feelings, but a wise man quietly holds it back."

"Other people's words should never control you."

"Self-control is strength; Right Thought is mastery; Calmness is power. Say unto your heart, 'Peace, be still!'"

"Self-control is a power, in fact, it's a superpower."

"If you have the right idea about what really belongs to you and what does not, you will never be subject to force or hindrance, you will never blame or criticize anyone, and everything you do will be done willingly."

"There's a difference between sharing your emotions and being controlled by them."

"You have power over your mind, not external events. Realize this, and you will find strength."

"If you cannot control your own mind, then you are just a feather in the wind of life."

"I didn't order takeout today. That's big for me."

"We have a possible connection between our will and the part of our brain which is dealing internally."

"If we gain an understanding over how our emotions affect our biology, then we gain the ability to take back control over our health."

"The one thing you have total control over is your mind."

"You're in control of that voice that always talks to you when you're drawing and says, let's go play some video games."

"It's not about whether I have fear or not. I made myself like this: only what I want happens within me. What I want may not always happen around me, but within me, only what I want happens."

"How do we rid ourselves of the fear of suffering? The suffering is happening because your faculties are not held in your hands."

"You are in control of acquiring the next version of you."

"Deferred gratification is a beautiful thing and it'll save you from getting a lot of trouble early on."

"All you can do is not take that drink in this moment. That's really all you can do."

"You will not stop the itch of sin by scratching it; you will only increase it. At some point, you just simply have to learn to die to yourself and say, 'I will learn to be content with what I have.'"

"If you're not hungry, why are you eating? If you're not hungry, don't eat."

"When you master emotional control, you become the thermostat and not the thermometer."

"Emotions are great servants but poor masters."

"Study after study shows that self-criticism is consistently associated with less motivation and worse self-control."

"The ability to delay gratification is the hallmark of maturity and a crucial part of the process of adapting to present actions for future consequences."

"The discipline aspect...is he learned how to integrate it into his personality...This aggression circuit, which is unbelievably powerful, was just dominating him...He'd just force it, get it under control...It was a victory for his developing ego. You see, because he wasn't defeated by his own impulses. And that's discipline, you see. Then you're not defeated by your own impulses."

"You're not entitled to look at her body just because she is revealing clothing. It's not an invitation; you need to learn how to have self-control."

"You practice self-control and temperance as a form of discipline, in case something happens."

"If your experience of what is happening within you is happening by choice, what is the problem?"

"We get a powerful sense of personality: this guy is fearless, he is disciplined, he has a crazy amount of self-control."

"Happiness comes from within. It comes from getting yourself in order, getting your thinking in order, not trying to control the world."

"Discipline is what's been crazy to me. How do you turn things down?"

"A man who isn't a slave to his sexual urges is a focused man. A focused man is a dangerous man."

"I silence you, spirit of hate; I silence you. I refuse to sit here and entertain you with these depressing thoughts, with these frustrating thoughts, with these overwhelming thoughts. They're not your thoughts."