
Another thing that technology may be killing is our self-control.
It used to be that if you didn’t want to do something, you had to exercise self-control. Now companies promise you that they will block your urges, if you just sign up for their service.
I guess you call this Self-Control as a service. SCAAS? I saw this from a bank that said they would help you have a safe account for your family and block things like purchases from your kids debit card.
If I had a kid who didn’t have self-control the last thing I would give them is a debit card. I laughed when I saw this because you can’t teach self-control by denying its use.
As a kid I had terrible self-control. I was impulsive and I did things that weren’t in my best interest. As I got older I realized that some things didn’t help me, and I stopped doing them. You don’t grow as a person by being protected from making mistakes, but by making mistakes and learning from them.
People need to make mistakes in their lives. It is the only way that some people learn. Some people seem unable to learn from history, unable to learn from their friends and family. They personally need to make a bad decision to learn from it.
When people fail to have self-control we have to involve the law. Many times I see judges get frustrated at the lack of self-control that some people have. This is a complex topic and has many aspects including, trauma, medical issues and education but suffice it to say that self-control is an important part of being an adult.
To grow self-control deny yourself something that you want to do each day. I do that and it has done wonders for my self-control. I can deny myself almost anything. Having the ability to say no is crucial. Don’t allow other people to manipulate you into a situation where you lose your self-control. Ultimately we choose and face the consequences for our decisions.
With a strong self-control you don’t need an external authority. You can control yourself because you don’t need to learn from consequences. With poor self-control consequences don’t matter until they are experienced. Let them experience them if that is the only way they learn. With that said, we do need to treat people who had trauma, medical issues and a lack of education. People are not disposable, no matter what some people may lead you to think.