How To – Apply principles of self-mastery as a key to achieve your goals and live your best life

Ultimately, Self-Mastery is a Desirable Goal…

So, what’s standing in the way of you reaching the level of success you desire, enjoying a great relationship, or seeing your abs for the first time? Is the problem that you don’t know enough? No. Is there too much competition? Not even close. The only obstacle is a lack of mastery over yourself. Don’t believe it?

You will.

Are you in great shape? Do you only eat healthy foods? Why not? Is it because you’re confused about which foods are healthy and which are not? Are you confused about whether it’s better to exercise by running down the block or by sitting on the couch?

Hardly.

You know enough to make significant changes in your life. Knowledge isn’t the challenge. The challenge is managing yourself and your behaviours.

Haven’t had a date in a year? Are you confused about how to get a date? The key to getting dates is to ask people out. How many people have you asked out in the last week? How many new people have you spoken to in the last week?

Are you able to say the things that need to be said? Are you able to be silent when you know you should? Can you make yourself go to the gym or eat an apple instead of a piece of apple pie?

Before we go on, let’s look at what Self-Mastery is.

Self-mastery is the process of developing a strong understanding of oneself and one’s abilities, and using that understanding to control and improve one’s life. It involves setting and working towards personal goals, developing self-awareness and self-discipline, and cultivating a sense of purpose and meaning in life.

Self-mastery can take many forms, including physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual development. It can involve activities such as exercise, meditation, therapy, and personal growth work. The goal of self-mastery is to become the best version of oneself, both personally and professionally.

Some benefits of self-mastery include increased confidence, improved relationships, better decision-making skills, and greater overall satisfaction with life. It can also lead to increased success and achievement in various areas of life, such as career, education, and personal relationships.

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Let’s carry on with the article…

Clearly, given this description, mastering ourselves must rank highly on the list of our personal goals. It is something we need to achieve or strive towards. From achieving it, the odds of achieving our other goals increase significantly!

These are some of the strategies you can use as guide for How To become the master of yourself:

1. Make a list of the things you should do each day, but aren’t. This list might include things like exercising, playing the piano for 20 minutes, drinking eight glasses of water, paying your bills, flossing, and making social connections.
2. Make a list of the things you do each day, but shouldn’t. Maybe you stay up too late, watch too much TV, waste time playing video games, smoke, and show up late to work. Think about all the things you do that sacrifice your health, career, finances, social life, and happiness.
3. Begin by addressing one item from each list. Slowly eliminate one of the negative items and add one of the positive items. Habits are challenging to change, but you’ve developed habits without even trying. Imagine what you can accomplish intentionally.
4. Have a long-term focus. Negative behaviours have short-term rewards. Eating ice cream or watching TV are rewarding immediately. They can be harmful in the long term, but they pay off right now.

• Adopt a long-term focus and consider the long-term implications of your behaviour before you indulge in it. What will it cost you down the road if you don’t change?
• Realize that your body can lead you astray. Why do people eat a bag of potato chips instead of an orange? They imagine themselves eating chips. Then they imagine eating an orange. Then they choose the one that feels better. But their body is deceiving them. It’s only concerned with safety and reproduction.
• It cares little for your longevity or your long-term prospects. Humans seek pleasure, just like any other animal. The advantage humans have over animals is the ability to make decisions and not follow instinct. The disadvantage humans have is the ability to create pleasurable foods and activities that are detrimental to long-term success and survival.

Self-mastery is the key. If you can master yourself, everything else tends to become easier. It becomes easier to get ahead at work. It becomes easier to be healthy. It becomes easier to save money and maintain relationships.

Can you master yourself? Key your attention to the long-term impact of behaviours and avoid or minimise short-term pleasures that lead to long-term challenges.