Is It Possible To Control Impulses? Learn How

If you often wonder the reasons for your actions and do not have a logical explanation for them or if you tend to regret what you do quite often, perhaps you should learn to control the impulses that lead you to act in this or that way.

The consequences of doing something without thinking can be quite serious. Those steps that you take without seeing, those words that you say without measuring what they will cause in the other… fortunately they have a solution. As everything in this life! We suggest that you put all your efforts into changing your impulsiveness to better relate to others and be more calm with yourself.

Controlling impulses goes beyond asking for forgiveness

Surely you are so used to saying “I’m sorry” that those words don’t make much sense to you anymore. Or maybe you can’t even express your regret when you’ve hurt someone’s feelings. And not to mention asking yourself for forgiveness when you’ve made a mistake!

Impulsiveness can go well or badly … it all depends on the situation. For example, if you are shy and due to an unexpected act, you decide to ask a girl you like out and she accepts … congratulations! But if because of your impulses you say horrible things to your partner and that generates an argument or a breakup, it stops being an ability to become a problem.

That does not mean that you cannot tell the other what you think or feel, but many times our words come out of the mouth faster than it takes the brain to process them. That is when there can be problems if things do not go as well as you thought and your sayings hurt whoever is in front of you.

Tips for controlling impulses

As a first step you must determine if you are an impulsive person or perhaps something hopelessly “verbose” (although there is a solution for everything as we have already said). This requires that you observe yourself in various situations.

How do you usually respond to certain stimuli such as a “buy now” sign? If your first thought is to spend a good amount of money on an object that you surely do not need, then the impulsiveness is stronger than you.

There is no doubt that if you let a few minutes pass, take another walk in the store and think about it, you will realize that you need that money to pay the rent or buy a new pair of shoes for your son.

The impulsive voice that makes you act in a specific way may yell at you, but if you don’t allow it to change your life, it doesn’t matter how loud it is. You must be the one who takes the reins every time that desire to do something without thinking takes over you.

A good technique to be able to put aside impulsivity is to analyze what are the consequences of your actions or sayings. Let your headline phrase be “I need to think better of it.” In this way, it will be easier for you to make the right decisions or at least, more thought out ones.

With a cold head, without pressure and with a meticulous study of the pros and cons of each decision, everything will be easier for you. Of course it is an effort and it takes time, but when you start to notice the results you will have realized that it is worth the work.

Dissatisfaction brings us impulsiveness

In the society in which we live, visual stimuli and advertising make us think that if we do not have this or that thing, we are not happy. As if a new pair of shoes or an expensive purse are the cure for depression (but that will be the reason for another article).

Dissatisfaction can bring impulsiveness. And at the same time, it will cost you a lot … When you go shopping (or better before leaving home) ask yourself if you really need or want those beautiful pants that you saw in the shop window. It also answers the question of what should I give up to buy them?

The same can be used when you are about to say something not so accurate. Is my need to speak louder than what my words can cause? Is it really good for the other to hear from my mouth what I have prepared to say?

Of course, we should not always shut up and agree on everything, but perhaps if we think better of our prayers the repercussions will be less drastic. Instead of saying “you’ve been wrong about everything,” choose to say “maybe there are things you can improve on.” You are saying almost the same thing but with a different attitude!