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In the modern world often, people break heads on ‘success principles’ or ‘success sutras’. If you are referred to ‘Rig Veda’ which is estimated to have composed between 1700-1100 BCE in one of the Sanskrit hymns it is said that –

“The main factor behind success is self-control”

Self-control is sometimes also referred to as self-regulation or self-management. It is the ability to check, control, manage and regulate your thoughts, behaviour, actions, and emotional impulses in the static situation as well as in variable situations.

Also Read: 365 Days with Self-Discipline. Check price on Amazon

Why Self-control is Important?

Who is the strongest man on Earth? The probable answer is, a person who has self-control or a person who can manage himself! Think ….so correct the answer is.

Remember, your knowledge, capabilities, excellence in academics will make you just employable. But, if you dare to dream something big, wish to further excel, and plan to sustain in your life and career then you have to master self-management skills. You need to be punctual, planned, organized, action-oriented, and result-driven.

“Self-management is therefore all about becoming your own leader by training your mental, physical, social and intellectual faculties in different ways”

Dr. Prem Jagyasi

Also Read: “Design Your Life – Prioritize Your values”

Challenges in Self-Management –

• Purpose –

• Purpose is the reason why you get up in the morning and add value to anyone surrounding you. If you do not have a purpose in life your desire to ‘manage yourself’ or your plan to ‘regulate yourself’ does not push you forward.

• Following Same Pattern –

• “If you keep on doing the same thing; you will keep on getting the same thing.”

One of the biggest challenges in self-management is when your mind is pre-conditioned and pre-programmed, and you love to follow the same pattern.

Break the pattern and start regulating your life as you dream.

Also Read: “Power of your belief system – Achieve anything in life”

• Comfort Zone –

• “Life begins at the end of your comfort zone” Neale Donald Walsch.

Remember, unless and until you come out of the boundary of ‘comfort zone’ you won’t be able to master self-management skills and regulate all your thoughts, insights, plans, actions, decisions.

Staying entrapped in the boundary of a comfort zone is one of the major challenges of ‘self-management’.

• Avoiding Pain –

• If you want to master self-management as one of your upskilling areas do not avoid pain which will eventually give you a lot of gains.

Studies and research-based evidence showed that most people are knowingly devoid of improving ‘self-management’ skills because they want to avoid the pain.

The biggest challenge is not to avoid the pain, but to accept it, adapt it, manage it and change yourself in line with self-regulation.

Also Read: “ How to use Pain and pleasure to fulfill your ambition”

Best 7 Self-Management Ways –

1. Wake Up Early – According to the academic journal Nature communications, early risers are less likely to develop any kind of mental health issues and less prone to depression. They stay healthier and happier.

Probably early rising is one of your major areas of self-regulation.

“How we start our day determines how we create our life. Are your snoozing through your morning, snoozing through your life, and snoozing through your unlimited potential?” Hal Elrod

Click & Read on ‘Waking up Early’ and How it is impactful for your health and wealth.

2. Practice Homework –

In ancient Rome ‘Pliny the Younger’, an oratory teacher probably first practiced homework. His purpose was he wanted to practice his follower’s public speaking at home so that they become confident, fluent, and capable over time.

Homework makes you prepared and “preparedness is the ultimate confidence builder” Vince Lombardi.

Regular practicing of homework in your professional career is a major skill of your self-management activities.

“We are doing our work to make sure we are prepared” Gary Gait

Click and You may also read ‘Tips to prepare for the future

3.‘JTBD’ List –

In self-management skill ‘JTBD’ i.e., ‘Jobs to be done is a focus area to work on. Remember, in today’s fast-paced, networked, data-rich, and internet-driven world people are bogged down with thousands of relevant and irrelevant happenings. Unless you prepare a list of ‘jobs to be done and keep engaged yourself in executing one by one you won’t be able to regulate yourself productively.

The idea is to keep a diary. Every day early morning after you woke up with a cup of coffee mug write down a list of things you will be doing that day. Prioritize the worklist. Once you are done strikethrough that one and focus on the next one.

Stick to it. Stick to it! Stick to it!! One of the most powerful ways of successful self-management.

4. Set Goals –

How you want to self-regulate your life depends to a great extent on how you set your personal and professional goals.

Set goals with a timeline. Review the same, readjust and realign. Learn to keep ‘SMART’ goals. ‘SMART’ is – specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. Break down goals into small parts.

Learn to manage yourself by keeping small goals, waking up early, preparing for your work in advance, and maintaining your list of daily jobs to be done.

“ You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream” – C.S. Lewis

Also Read: “Develop determination and destroy roadblocks of success”

5. Manage Your Time –

Do not allow your time to manage you. Rather you learn how to manage your time. One of the integral and inseparable parts of self-management is ‘Time management.

Around 300 years back Benjamin Franklin rightly said that “Remember that time is money”. This is even so true today and will always be. Time is an irreplaceable asset. Learn to prioritize, learn to respect time, and spend time where it matters most to you.

Read Also: A wonderful article on Time Management

6. Nourish with Positivity –

Another important self-management action is you need to keep on nourishing yourself with positivity from the time you woke up, throughout your day, and till the time you hit back to your bed at night.

Remember, we do not invite weeds in a garden, Weeds automatically come and we need to weed out regularly. The same applies to our life. Like weeds in a garden, a lot of unwanted, undesirable, unproductive, and useless thoughts will come and pop up in your mind. These are blockers of your imagination and positive actions.

Weed out those thoughts. Weed them out regularly.

“ All battles are first won or lost, in the mind” – Joan Of Arc

Click & Read a book about Japanese secrets to a long and happy life

7. Develop Resilience –

Japanese Proverb is – “Fall seven times and stand up eight”.

Resilience is the cherry on top. Developing a resilient mindset is crucial when you decide to develop your ‘Self-management’ skill. Learning to accept that failure is bound to happen and bouncing back is the only way to be successful with consistent efforts. Remember, as rightly said by George Armstrong Custer “ It’s not how many times you get knocked down that count, it’s how many times you get back up”.

Read Also: An informative article on bouncing back every time you fall

Final Thoughts – The point is whether you are a student, teacher, working professional, poet, politician, and dream to scale up in your career and want to adapt to the changing industrial environment self-management is a ‘MUST’ skill that needs to be acquired.

“Self-management, therefore, is all about becoming your own leader by training your mental, physical, social and intellectual faculties in different ways” Dr. Prem Jagyasi

So…Now Are you ready to practice Self-Management skills and master it ? Start Practicing ..

Meanwhile we will be soon back with the Skill number 6 which is a mandatory skill for the future world… Till then ..Hold your breath !