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What Self-Control Reveals About Your Dark Side
Self-control is more than a predictor of success in life. It reveals a hidden truth about human nature itself.
Self-control has long been considered a key ingredient to personal success.
Recent findings however show another side to self-control that is more ominous.
In these new findings, researchers showed that people with “high self-control”, who have previously been thought to be more pro-social (share, be kind towards others, etc), were really only doing so because they were looking out for their reputation.
Without any threat of being seen as bad, stingy, or in any way less than, they were MORE stingy, selfish, and even sadistic than others.
This comes from a very simple truth. People who have more self-control, are people who have stronger personalities, or in other words, a bigger ego.
Sure, that means that they are more able to succeed because they have more will power and desire to do so. They want more honor and recognition, so they do more in order to gain it.
If the social norms require you to be “giving” in order to look good, so be it! But if not? All that generosity disappears.
If the norm is…
