To master self-control, we have to instruct ourselves

To master self-control, we have to instruct ourselves. And that won't happen naturally because in the face of temptations, the hot system dominates: it discounts delayed consequences, it acti-vates faster than the cool system, and as it accelerates the cool system attenuates. This dominance of the hot system might have served our ancestors well in the wild, but it also drives us to the default reflex of giving in to temptations, making it easy for smart people to behave stupidly. If we feel regret about our self-control failures, it will probably be fleeting, because our psycho-logical immune system is so good at protecting and defending us, rationalizing our lack of self-control ("I had a crazy day"; "It was her fault"), and not letting us feel bad about ourselves for long. That makes it even more unlikely that we will learn to behave differently in the future.

— from The Instruments (Awareness/Perception/Expectations)

Also belongs to

Related