Exploring the nature of self-control, the connection it has to empathy, and the picture we have of our ideal self. Reading from The Atlantic article “Self-Control is Just Empathy with Your Future Self” by Ed Yong. We can think of self-control as the “present” you taking a hit in order to help out the “future” you. You don’t eat cake today, so you weigh less next month, you study today so you can have a better job next year, the examples are endless.
Self-Control and Judgment
When conversing about people, we are always being driven by a desire to understand the why and how of particular actions. “Why did I do that, it’s not like me, or why did they do that, I’d have never expected it.” We are all made up of many stories, listen to learn more about how we can increase our understanding of self-control and judgment, and stimulate empathy for our future selves.
Further Reading:
Human Nature: An Issue of Inheritance – We have not inherited a life of narrow meaning, we have been brought into this world with the capacity to see purpose in everything we do.
Empathy: How We Form Our Relationships – Relationship as a foundational quality to reality manifests within humanity through this imagination/empathy mechanism. Empathy never stops. Whether we consciously acknowledge its continued presence or not, the flow of our relational lives will change what behavior we manifest.