It’s easy to think of the highly self-disciplined as being miserable misers or uptight Puritans, but it turns out that exerting self-control can make you happier not only in the long run, but also in the moment.
The research, which was published in the Journal of Personality, showed that self-control isn’t just about deprivation, but more about managing conflicting goals. The researchers found a strong connection between higher levels of self-control and life satisfaction.
The smartphone experiment also revealed how self-control may improve mood. Those who showed the greatest self-control reported more good moods and fewer bad ones. “People who have good self-control do a number of things that bring them happiness — namely, they avoid problematic desires and conflict,” says the study’s co-author Kathleen Vohs, professor of marketing at the University of Minnesota.
The highly self-controlled showed a distinct difference from those with less discipline over their lives. They tended to avoid creating situations in which their goals would conflict, and reported fewer instances of having to choose between short-term pleasure and long-term pain. They experienced fewer negative emotions. People use self-control to set up their lives so as to avoid problems.
So why does exerting more self-discipline seem so dreary? Dieting, for example, is all about self-control but isn’t necessarily associated with happy thoughts. Part of that may have to do with the effort required to bypass or diffuse conflicts created by temptation. That may only be a perception, since it results from our tendency to focus on the difficulty of exercising discipline rather than the benefits that result when we do.
And self-control doesn’t always mean self-denial: it may mean saving now to get a big payoff later. Self-control isn’t the best route to instant gratification, but it may bring something even better: long-term contentment.