Self-Control and Impulsiveness
- Michael Haldas
- 13 minutes ago
- 3 min read
“It is hard not to admire someone with self-control. It’s a virtue that emboldens the brave to face any foe and often prevail…self-control can be frustratingly elusive…For the impulsive, the self in self-control is the problem. It is a foundation made of sand that will inevitably lead to the collapse of all we call home. There is, however, another solution and that is to put God in control, seeking strength from Him. Saint Paul refers to self-control in his epistle to the Galatians when he writes, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, self-control: against such there is no law” (5:22). For the Christian, self-control—like love, peace, and joy—is not the fruit of his or one’s own efforts, but of the Spirit, which is another way of expressing our living relationship with God on a day-to-day, hour-by-hour, minute-by-minute basis, allowing God to do what we cannot.” (Hieromonk Alexis Trader)
“Self-control is not an abstract force, but a quality that is manifest in concrete actions and a particular way of life… self-control…[is] delayed self-gratification, learned industriousness, obedience to conscience, behavioral inhibition, impulse control, and an ability to think about the future and plan accordingly. Of these manifestations of self-control, the two that stand out as the best viable candidates for the impulsive are learned industriousness and planning for the future by action in the present that will make impulsive behavior increasingly unlikely later on.” (Hieromonk Alexis Trader, Andrew A. Lubusko)
“In this story [“The Tortoise and the Hare.], the hare challenges the tortoise to a race. Obviously, the hare is faster and starts out at a fast clip. The tortoise moves at a slow and steady pace. The hare is so far out in front he become complacent and falls asleep. He awakens a while later to see that the tortoise has not only passed him but is about to cross the finish line ahead of him. The lesson to this fable is “slow and steady wins the race.” It is the Holy Spirit that allows to stay steady. A successful life is not one that is necessarily lived at a fast pace. Because fast many times leads us to be impulsive, and many of our sins are committed impulsively. Because if we were slow and steady, we’d think more before we act. Allowing the Holy Spirit to “power us” will make us more like the tortoise than the hare, and we all know from the story, it was the tortoise who won the race.” (Fr. Stavros N. Akrotirianakis)
“It is not that we live in a godless world; it is that we have forgotten to give God to ourselves and to one another through the simple activity of spending time with God in prayer. Prayer has become relegated to a formality, a mechanical exercise from which we assume magic and power will flow like a rushing ocean current. We want and expect and demand even when we “pray”, very much like all newborn infants who out of necessity are utilitarian in their early lives. We lack understanding and operate on the sole basis of our shortsighted impulses. We only know how “to do”; we have not yet learned the central importance of knowing how “to be.” Hence, our lives become shallow and congested with unnecessary distractions that add to our distress when our expectations are not fulfilled. Yet, if we would only rejoice with simply “being with God”, we would then come to realize that the answer to prayer is not getting what we want, but getting what we need. And what we need is to be with God — always.” (Fr. Stelyios Muksuris)
“He came not to heal bodies only, but also to lead the soul unto self-control.” (St. John Chrysosyom)
Comments