Self Control: Do you have a grip on it?

What is self-control? Allow students to brainstorm and discuss their ideas. When you have self-control, you decide the best way to act instead of acting without thinking.

It might only take a second or two, but a person with self-control stops, thinks, and remains calm—even if he/she is very upset or angry.

Before you act, think about the situation (it takes less than a second sometimes) and what might happen if you react impulsively.

Here’s an example. Someone walked up to you and called you a coward. Bad- You tell them ”No, I’m not a coward. Come fight with me and I’ll prove it to you.” OR Good- “Get away from me. I don’t have time for you.” Discuss the difference between the 2. What do you think is the outcome for each one?

Discuss the following situations on the next 2 slides and decide what you would do to exercise self-control. 1. Write 2 answers for each one: bad and good. 2. Then you can role play each situation, both the good and bad responses. 3. Discuss each response and after it has been acted out. What would happen if you chose to lose your self-control? How should you react to this?

Someone hits you on the arm. Bad- Good- A student comes up to you and says something about your hair or clothes. Your sister got your brand new white Converse shoes dirty.

You get a D on a test you studied hard for. Bad- Good- Your best friend says you can’t go to their party that you were planning to. Someone walks by and calls you a name.

Remember, self-control means that YOU are in control of yourself, no one else. If you allow yourself to get angry, then you have given the others control of the situation and control of YOU. By thinking before acting, you can help yourself to be successful by staying out of trouble.