Hacking Self-Control With Humility [PSMag.com]

As a publication that wonders why people do what they do, we write a lot about self-control here at Pacific Standard.Here's what we know: Self-control is greatly influenced byemotions; conservatives may have more of it; and reminding kids about goals can help them learn it.

Now, researchers have found a new piece to the self-control puzzle: According to a forthcoming study in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, humility—the ability to tolerate failures without self-deprecation, and to view successes without developing a sense of superiority—may actually be predictive of higher levels of self-control.

Add this to the growing list of advantages for humble humans, alongside more effective leadership, better academic performance, and just generally more positive life outcomes. Self-control—essentially our ability to harness our physical and psychological resources to achieve goals or overcome impulses—has also been linked to similar benefits for education, relationships, and health status. In the new study, the authors wanted to know if these positive, humility-associated outcomes might be obtained thanks to higher self-control.  

[For more of this story, written by Kate Wheeling, go to http://www.psmag.com/health-an...-slice-of-humble-pie]