Quotes about Self-control

He who holds his tongue in check controls both mind and body. Thus it must be a decisive rule of every Christian fellowship that each individual is prohibited from saying much that occurs to him.

Lay siege to your sins, and starve them out by keeping away the food and fuel which is their maintenance and life.

When you allow what someone says or does to upset you, you're allowing them to control you.

Life is fraught with opportunities to keep your mouth shut.

When you are tough on yourself, life is inevitably easy. When you are easy on yourself, life will be inevitably difficult.

We must all suffer from one of two pains: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret. The difference is discipline weighs ounces while regret weighs tons.

We must cast away by any contrivance, and cut out by fire and sword and contrivances of all kinds, disease from the body, ignorance from the soul, luxury from the belly, sedition from the state, discord from the family, excess from all things alike.

it is extremely trying when one has once tasted pleasure to abstain from its enticements, so the reward of doing this is proportionately great.

Take Care not to have an itching tongue, nor tingling ears; neither attract others, nor listen to backbiters. [Letter to Nepotian]

It is much better to take a little every day than some days to abstain wholly and on others to surfeit oneself.

We may feel that a particular habit 'isn't too bad,'but continually giving in to that habit weakens our wills against the onslaughts of temptation from other directions.

Every sin we commit reinforces the habit of sinning and makes it easier to sin. In the previous chapter we discussed the importance of guarding our minds and emotions, since these faculties are the channels through which the various compelling forces reach our wills. But it is also important that we understand how our habits influence our wills.