Being in control of yourself and your emotions is what we strive for. The best of the best in every category, whether that is sports, business, music, have self control. They have tremendous ability to regulate their response to steer clear of undesirable behaviours. In a sense they are leaders in their fields and they are the ones a lot of people look up too. Consequently, they need to be able to lead. If they cannot control themselves, how can they expect to control others.
By controlling others, I’m not referencing manipulation, rather inspire others, to make them see the vision they set out for the company. If they, as a leader, cannot control themselves, how would anybody respect them and believe anything they have to say.
Self control is key, it will help you focus on your goal and achieve them at a faster pace. With that said, if you set out to do something, it’s important to not get distracted by activities that will veer you off path of your goals. It will happen that self control is lost from time to time. No one is perfect. We are all humans and indulgence gets the best of us. Don’t be discourage. A setback is a form of test for your self control. Do you indulge more or do you refocus?
The initial thought of the greatest leaders is they have the answers to all questions, they should know everything and have self control in all situations. However, leaders who presume to have an answer for every question or they are always correct will have a hard time progressing as well as getting respect for their peers.
Self control is not about knowing everything and assuming you do. Being stoic is about being yourself, expressing how you feel, being vulnerable, being authentic, showing empathy, listening and most of all, indicating that you don’t know everything. Telling your colleagues, family members, friends, when you don’t understand, even when every body else around you seems to understand. Most likely, you aren’t the only one that does not understand.
Self control is not only important for being a great leader but a great human being. That being said, no one will have self control 100% of the time. The difference between great people in this world and the average person, is great people realize when they lost self control and learn from their mistakes.
No one is perfect so don’t be too hard on yourself.
Take care.