When feeling good isn’t good enough: Self-control, not self-esteem, is the key to success

New York Daily News:

Psychology has identified two different prescriptions for how to solve the personal problems that people face today: self-esteem and self-control.

Both have been touted as ways to reduce crime, obesity, school underachievement, teen pregnancy, drug abuse and domestic violence. After conducting dozens of studies and reading hundreds of others, I have concluded that one prescription is snake oil while the other is as close to penicillin as psychology is going to get.

Here’s my takeaway: Forget bolstering self-esteem. Concentrate on building self-control. Self-control is good for the person who has it, for the people around him or her and, in fact, for society as a whole.

The evidence astonishes. Compared to others, children with good self-control do better in school. They are more popular with their peers. They grow up to earn higher salaries. They are less likely to be arrested. Adults with high self-control have better relationships and fewer psychological problems. And their own children are more likely to have the benefit of being raised by two parents instead of one.

Read the whole story: New York Daily News