Receive wealth or prosperity without arrogance; and be ready to let it go.
—Marcus Aurelius
Never take self-discipline for granted or assume that if you can control your urges, you’re now invincible.
Humility plays an important role in helping you maintain self-control. An arrogant person will be more likely to unnecessarily test their willpower, which will eventually lead to their downfall.
This happens because of the restraint bias — the tendency for people to overestimate how capable they are of controlling impulsive behaviors.
Research shows that people who had an inflated belief in their self-control overexposed themselves to temptations, such as recovering smokers putting themselves in situations tempting them to smoke, which increased the risk of a relapse.
Assume that your self-discipline is like prosperity. It’s possible that it will stay with you for a long time, but it’s also possible that it will disappear. Consequently, you’ll work harder to keep it in your life. If it does go away when you make some mistakes, you’ll accept it with more tranquility and be more likely to regain it quickly.
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