Impulsivity and Self Control

Executive Functions are a set of eight cognitive processes that are needed for self-regulating our own behaviors.  Executive Functions make it possible to mentally play with ideas; take the time to think before acting; stop an action that isn’t appropriate for a situation; adapting to an unexpected change; meet novel, unanticipated challenges and make quick decisions; resist temptations; and stay focused.

They play a role in almost any job or career that requires organization, planning, problem-solving, decision making, or handling data, from being a sales clerk in a retail store to being a brain surgeon.  And Executive Functions play a fundamental role when learning new information because they are what makes it possible to schedule time for learning, control attention and concentrate during a seminar or webinar, and take notes about the information being shared.

And, we use our Executive Functions to select and successfully monitor behaviors that help us achieve our goals.  So naturally, Executive Functions are key for leaders and managers, whether it is someone who is the principal of a school, the CEO of a business or the supervisor of a government office.  And they are essential at every level, whether mid- management or C-Suite.  Basically, if your Executive Functions are strong, most anything is achievable.

So what are the eight Executive Functions?  They are:

1. Self-Control / Inhibition – the ability to control impulsive and automatic responses and generate responses using attention and reasoning.
2. Planning – the ability to think about future events and mentally anticipate the correct way to carry out a task or reach a specific goal.
3. Shifting / Adaptability – the ability to modify or adjust our thoughts and behaviors to new, changing, and unexpected situations.
4. Updating – the ability to supervise behavior and ensure a plan of action (yours or someone else’s) is being properly carried out.
5. Cognitive flexibility– this includes creatively thinking “outside the box” and seeing something from a different perspective; quickly and flexibly adapting to changed circumstances.
6. Working memory – the ability to temporarily store and manage information in order to do complex cognitive tasks.
7. Decision-making – the ability to efficiently and thoughtfully select one option among different choices.
8. Fluid Intelligence — the ability to use reason to come to a logical conclusion when considering an unknown; the ability to solve a problem.

Not everyone possesses a high level of strength in all eight Executive Functions.  But, the good news is that these cognitive skills are trainable and can be improved with practice.  Think of them like muscles that can be worked out and strengthened.  Neuroplasticity is the basis of improving Executive Functions. The more the brain and its connections are used and challenged, the stronger they get and the better they work.

The bad news is that stress, lack of sleep, loneliness, or a lack of exercise can impair Executive Functions.  So it is important to understand each Executive Function, how it works and how to optimize it in order to do your best work and be effective in achieving goals.

This week, we’ll focus on self-control and inhibition… an excellent topic since so many start diets on January 1.

Self-Control and Impulsivity

Self-control enables us to set priorities and resist impulsive actions or responses.   It is an essential cognitive skill needed for many jobs… especially any that require working collectively or collaboratively with others.  In a myriad of occupations that range from air traffic controller, teacher, police officer or architect to computer programmer, surgeon, realtor or therapist, the ability to set priorities, control actions and resist impulsive responses are essential.  

We think of impulsivity and self-control as cognitive skills that children need to master.  And that is true.   Impulsivity / self-control is an area that children develop as they get older.  At home and in school, we teach children to curb their impulses and control their behavior so that they can function in groups, work with others and be polite and considerate of others’ needs.  Growth-promoting environments provide children with the “scaffolding” that helps them practice self-control skills before they must perform them alone. Parents model the behaviors they want their children to emulate.  Schools provide opportunities for kids to develop those skills through creative play and activities that involve social connection.  Children learn how to hold up their hand and wait to be called on by the teacher before giving the answer to a question.  They learn how to wait their turn in line and not cut to the front.  They learn to wait for another child to finish using the pencil sharpener before they use it. They learn how to wait until others finish speaking before beginning to speak.  They learn how to look both ways before crossing a street.  And, over time — as they strengthen the skill of self-control — adults allow them to direct their own actions with decreasing adult supervision.

By the time people reach adulthood, we think of self-control as a skill that has been learned and mastered.  And yet, many adults struggle with impulse control.  Impulsivity includes deficits in attention, lack of reflection and/or an insensitivity to consequences.  In fact, there are entire industries that have flourished to help adults who struggle with impulsivity related to overeating or smoking.  In fact, most major personal and social problems are based, in part, on a lack of self-control, such as compulsive spending, gambling, procrastination at work, etc.  So what’s a person to do if they made it to adulthood and still need to improve this cognitive skill?  Can a person decrease impulsivity and increase self-control as an adult… when there are no parents or teachers available to provide the scaffolding to build self-control?

Here are some ways to reduce impulsivity and flex that self-control muscle.  The more you do it, the stronger it will get.

1. Practice.  Practice.  Practice.

As the saying goes, practice makes perfect… or in this case, stronger.   Developing self-control takes commitment and practice.  It doesn’t happen overnight.  Dedicating time daily to a goal or behavioral change is one way to do this.

First, choose your daily self-control goal. Think about an act of self-control that needs developing. This can be anything; either personal or professional. It might be something small like eliminating sugar in your coffee in the morning or avoid sweet treats after dinner.  Or the focus might be an organizational goal such as clearing your desk daily or processing expenses weekly.  It must be something manageable and achievable.

Then, make the goal SMART.

• Specific
• Measurable
• Attainable
• Realistic
• Timely

The idea is to achieve the goal and exert some self-control every day.   Consider if there is anyone else involved with helping you achieve your goal, such as a colleague, partner, or spouse.  Or anyone that can hold you accountable.

Next, keep a daily record.  Note strategies used to achieve small acts of self-control to meet the goal. Was it easy or hard?  Did you fail on some days? What did you feel when you failed, or what happened during the day?

Each day, give yourself a score of 1-10 for how easy or hard you found it, with 10 being very easy and 1 being very hard. Check back over time to see how your score changes and what influenced the score in order to make better self-control decisions in order to achieve your goal.

2. Recognize and Accept Feelings

Emotions often undermine self-control.  Anger.  Frustration.  Sadness.  Loneliness.  When difficult emotions arise, it can be hard to know what to do with them or how to process them.  Emotions can provoke in impulsivity, such as overeating as a way to self-comfort when sad or lonely.  Or smoking as a way to combat frustration and calm the nerves.  Rather than allowing those emotions to undermine self-control, recognize and accept them.  Then find ways to relieve those feelings.

Meditation is one way to focus on and accept emotions, move them calmly through the thought processes and then be able to move forward in ways that don’t undermine goals.

3. Remove Temptations

Again, the say is right on the money:  out of sight is out of mind.  Removing temptations is an incredibly simple but highly effective way to increase self-control.  Since self-control can be overused or exhausted – like any muscle — it can become depleted.  Exercising self-control is good but exercising it too much will strain the muscle.  So it is important to practice a little and build up resistance over time, but not push too hard too fast with temptations.  So if the idea is to stop smoking, it is important not to go outside to the area where others might be smoking after a meal.

The key is to identify the area to exercise more self-control.  Then remove all sources of temptation.  This is easiest to do with tangible things.  Then, track your progress. Keep a diary with details on how long it was possible to resist the temptation and how easy or difficult it was.  Beware of triggers. And understand that temptation is not an all-or-nothing proposition.  For a dieter, having one dessert doesn’t mean all is lost.  Simply acknowledge the moment and focus on getting back on track rather than falling into old habits.

With each step, impulsivity is reigned in and self-control is flexed.

Next week, we’ll take a look at another Executive Function and discover ways to improve those cognitive skills.  Stay tuned.

Quote of the Week

“Since self-control is vital to reaching long-term goals, befriending people with willpower can be a 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

© 2022, Keren Peters-Atkinson. All rights reserved.