People Who Resist Temptation Are Happier...But Eat Less Chocolate
Step away from that chocolate chip cookie! Deciding not to give in to your chocolate craving might be the secret to your ultimate happiness.
A Journal of Personality study found that people with high levels of self-control are happier than those who live impulsively.
The study occurred in two parts — the first part was a survey which asked 414 adults questions about their impulse-control, current emotional state, and overall satisfaction with their lives. They then studied 205 adults by giving them smartphones which prompted them to report how they were feeling at random intervals throughout the time studied, as well as whether they had experienced any urges they had attempted to quash and whether they had ultimately given in to those urges or not.
The study — “Yes, But Are They Happy? Effects of Trait Self-Control on Affective Well-Being and Life Satisfaction” — determined that the more self-control folks reported having, the more satisfied they were with their lives, contrary to popular opinion. You’d think that the folks who don’t treat themselves to a second slice of cake aren’t as happy as the rest of us gluttonous bastards, right?
"You’d think that the folks who don’t treat themselves to a second slice of cake aren’t as happy as the rest of us gluttonous bastards, right?"
In fact, the study found that people who don’t have trouble with self-control may just be happier because they don’t feel like they’re constantly denying themselves treats —They simply don’t tend to find themselves in situations where they feel pressure to choose what should be done over happiness. As TIME explains, self-control is all about “managing conflicting goals” by staying away from temptation to save up for a larger payoff at a later date (such as avoiding going into a bakery or candy shop when you’re on a diet because you know you’ll be tempted to buy a sweet).
Why Resisters Win at Happiness
People with strong self-control avoid tempting situations altogether, so they rarely feel the pain of denial.
If you’re anything like us, this article has only made you think about how delicious the jar of Nutella in your pantry sounds right about now — and if the war is between happiness or chocolate, the Nutella wins every. Single. Time.
[Pic via Flickr - Ian Carroll]
