An Exercise in Self-Discipline

[Guest guest]

this is from Experience Magazine this month ... found it interesting as I never

thought of the cross over effect before!

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How self control in one area can help in other areas.

June 2011

Self-control is like a muscle: the more regularly you use it, the stronger it

gets — in every area of life. In one study, psychologists Oaten and Ken

Cheng had participants start and stick to a regular exercise plan. Two months

later, the exercising participants were performing better on other self-control

tests in the lab. More impressive still, they experienced higher levels of

self-control outside the lab, reporting success toward quitting smoking and

limiting alcohol and caffeine intake, better maintenance of household chores,

and improved spending and study habits. Participants also reported less

emotional distress and less perceived stress after practicing self-control. The

Australian research team noted that exercising self-control in one area

" produced significant improvements in a wide range of regulatory behaviors. "

Another study, led by researcher Mark Muraven, PhD, at the University of Albany

in New York, asked a group of participants to give up sweets for two weeks. At

the end of that time, the sweets-deprived participants performed better on

concentration tests, which takes self-control.

So if you want to start and stick to an exercise routine (or any goal that's

proved challenging), you may be able to improve your chances of success by

developing self-control in another area first: Stick to a budget, do the dishes

every night before bed, or cut your TV viewing in half.