Self-control is the ability to regulate and alter responses in order to avoid undesirable behaviors, increase desirable ones, and achieve long-term goals. Inspirational self control quotes will encourage growth in life, make you wiser and broaden your perspective.
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Most Famous Self Control Quotes
The first and best victory is to conquer self. To be conquered by self is, of all things, the most shameful and objectionable. Plato
Human nature is complex. Even if we do have inclinations toward violence, we also have inclination to empathy, to cooperation, to self control. Steven Pinker
There never has been, and cannot be, a good life without self control. Leo Tolstoy
Being forced to work, and forced to do your best, will breed in you temperance and self-control, diligence and strength of will, cheerfulness and content, and a hundred virtues which the idle will never know. Charles Kingsley
What we do upon some great occasion will probably depend on what we already are and what we are will be the result of previous years of self discipline. H.P. Liddon
I think it is the height of ignorance to believe that the sexual act is an independent function necessary like sleeping or eating. Seeing, therefore, that I did not desire more children, I began to strive after self control. There was endless difficulty in the task. Mahatma Gandhi
Mastering self control, the act of restraining one’s emotions is the true key to success. Timothy Pina
The Western day is indeed nearing when the inner science of self control will be found as necessary as the outer conquest of nature. This new Atomic Age will see men’s minds sobered and broadened by the now scientifically indisputable truth that matter is in reality a concentrate of energy. Paramahansa Yogananda
He who reigns within himself, and rules passions, desires, and fears, is more than a king. John Milton
A treat is different from a reward, which must be justified or earned. A treat is a small pleasure or indulgence that we give to ourselves just because we want it. Treats give us greater vitality, which boosts self control, which helps us maintain our healthy habits. Gretchen Rubin
He who angers you conquers you. Elizabeth Kenny
In ancient China, self government was highly developed both in community life and in personal life. The custom of mutual protection and assistance was widespread. The organization and regulations of local self government were clearly defined and strictly applied. Individual self control was even more strongly emphasized. Chiang Kai
Such power there is in clear eyed self restraint. James Russell Lowell
Traditional economics is based on imaginary creatures sometimes referred to as Homo economicus. I call them Econs for short. Econs are amazingly smart and are free of emotion, distraction or self control problems. Think Mr. Spock from Star Trek. Richard Thaler
To handle yourself, use your head to handle others, use your heart. Donald Laird
The first thing I would do for anyone who’s trying to lose body fat, for instance, would be to remove foods from the house that he or she would consume during lapses of self control. Tim Ferriss
If you do not conquer self, you will be conquered by self. Napoleon Hill
Even though we don’t always realize it, as the day goes on, we have increased difficulty exerting self control and focusing on our work. As self control wears out, we feel tired and find tasks to be more difficult, and our mood sours. Travis Bradberry
The highest possible stage in moral culture is when we recognize that we ought to control our thoughts. Charles Darwin
Since self control is vital to reaching long term goals, befriending people with willpower could be the secret to success. Whether you’re tempted to skip that workout at the gym, or you’re considering blowing this month’s budget, spending time with a disciplined friend could boost your motivation to maintain healthy habits. Amy Morin
The secret of success is learning how to use pain and pleasure instead of having pain and pleasure use you. If you don’t, life controls you. Anthony Robbins
Saudi Arabia operates according to the belief that God made young men and women so utterly and completely without self control that they must be physically segregated every moment of the day and night. James Buchan
Your brain shall be your servant instead of your master. You will rule it instead of allowing it to rule you. Charles Popplestone
Buddha’s teaching are very simple, you don’t have to break your head to understand the message. The part that I like the most from Buddha’s teachings and from His Holiness, The Dalai Lama, is that the most powerful weapon is to not attack, to be able to have self control. Ricky Martin
Anger doesn’t demand action. When you act in anger, you lose self control. Joe Hyams
All that self control stuff, I tried all that stuff from analysts. I went everywhere to these guys, every kind of anger management, psychologist, psychiatrist. Get rid of my temper, get rid of my temper. And there was only one guy who just said, I don’t think this is related to, uh, issues. I think there has got to be something wrong. Harvey Weinstein
Ultimately, the only power to which man should aspire is that which he exercises over himself. Elie Wiesel
No one in al Nahda believes that jihad is a way to impose Islam on the world. But we believe that jihad is self control, is social and political struggle, and even military jihad is only a way to defend oneself in the case of aggression. Rashid al
He who cannot obey himself will be commanded. That is the nature of living creatures. Friedrich Nietzsche
January is always a good month for behavioral economics Few things illustrate self control as vividly as New Year’s resolutions. February is even better, though, because it lets us study why so many of those resolutions are broken. Sendhil Mullainathan
I count him braver who overcomes his desires than him who conquers his enemies for the hardest victory is over self. Aristotle
There’s a popular image of people who don’t save for the future as lacking in self-control. But the reason saving is so hard has less to do with self control and more to do with a scarcity of attention. Sendhil Mullainathan
Seek always for the answer within. Be not influenced by those around you, by their thoughts or their words. Eileen Caddy
We deify willpower and self control and mock its absence. People who achieve through remarkable willpower are strong and heroic. People who need help or structure are weak. This is crazy because few of us can accurately gauge or predict our willpower. Marshall Goldsmith
We improve ourselves by victories over ourselves. There must be contest, and we must win. Edward Gibbon
A strong police presence keeps individuals involved in street life from triggering the most severe penalties of the law by providing a surrogate for the self control and parental oversight that they lack. Heather Mac Donald
Do not bite at the bait of pleasure till you know there is no hook beneath it. Thomas Jefferson
The secret of success is learning how to use pain and pleasure instead of having pain and pleasure use you. If you don’t, life controls you. Anthony Robbins
If you do not conquer self, you will be conquered by self. Napoleon Hill
Your brain shall be your servant instead of your master. You will rule it instead of allowing it to rule you. Charles Popplestone
I am the master of my fate I am the captain of my soul. William Henley
Self control is a key factor in achieving success. We can’t control everything in life, but we can definitely control ourselves. Jan McKingley
The good Lord gave you a body that can stand most anything. It’s your mind you have to convince. Vince Lombardi
Seek always for the answer within. Be not influenced by those around you, by their thoughts or their words. Eileen Caddy
By constant self discipline and self control you can develop greatness of character. Grenville Kleiser
When we have begun to take charge of our lives, to own ourselves, there is no longer any need to ask permission of someone. George O’Neil
With self discipline most anything is possible. Theodore Roosevelt
The highest possible stage in moral culture is when we recognize that we ought to control our thoughts. Charles Darwin
To enjoy freedom we have to control ourselves. Virginia Woolf
The secret of success is learning how to use pain and pleasure instead of having pain and pleasure use you. If you don’t you, life controls you. Anthony Robbins
Self reverence, self knowledge, self control. These three alone lead one to sovereign power. Lord Tennyson
You cannot prevent the birds of sorrow from flying over your head, but you can prevent them from building nests in your hair. Chinese Proverb
Self respect is the root of discipline. The sense of dignity grows with the ability to say no to oneself. Abraham J Heschel
No one is in control of your happiness but you therefore, you have the power to change anything about yourself or your life that you want to change. Barbara De Angelis
If we don’t discipline ourselves, the world will do it for us. William Feather
The man who masters his own soul will forever be called conqueror of conquerors. Plautus
Rule your mind or it will rule you. Horace
Temptations come, as a general rule, when they are sought. Margaret Oliphant
Don’t be curious of matters that don’t concern you never speak of them, and don’t ask about them. Teresa of Avila
We improve ourselves by victories over ourselves. There must be contest, and we must win. Edward Gibbon
What we do upon some great occasion will probably depend on what we already are and what we are will be the result of previous years of self discipline. H.P. Liddon
You can’t always control the wind, but you can control your sails. Dr. Bob Chope
It isn’t until you come to a spiritual understanding of who you are not necessarily a religious feeling, but deep down, the spirit within that you can begin to take control. Oprah Winfrey
Not being able to govern events, I govern myself. Michel de Montaigne
Not to have control over the senses is like sailing in a rudderless ship, bound to break to pieces on coming in contact with the very first rock. Mahatma Gandhi
Willpower is what separates us from the animals. It’s the capacity to restrain our impulses, resist temptation do what’s right and good for us in the long run, not what we want to do right now. It’s central, in fact, to civilization. Dr. Roy Baumeister.
Seek always for the answer within. Be not influenced by those around you, by their thoughts or their words. Eileen Caddy
My will shall shape my future. Whether I fail or succeed shall be no man’s doing but my own. I am the force I can clear any obstacle before me or I can be lost in the maze. My choice my responsibility win or lose, only I hold the key to my destiny. Elaine Maxwell