Imagine your favorite dessert is in front of you. You can eat it right now or wait 15 minutes and receive a larger portion. What would you do? This is the idea behind the Delayed Gratification Test, an experiment that demonstrated that the ability to resist impulses at an early age can influence future success.
In the following video, it explains how Walter Mischel, a psychologist at Columbia University, conducted this study with 4-year-old children and followed them for 30 years to analyze the effects of their self-control in adult life.
As you watch the video, think about the following:
- Why can some children wait while others cannot?
- How does this ability affect adult life?
- Can inhibitory control be trained?
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What is Inhibitory Control?
Inhibitory control is the brain’s ability to regulate impulses, emotions, and behaviors. It helps us stop before we react, think before we act, and make better decisions.
It is one of the most important executive functions of the brain and can be trained through practice. The more we use it, the better it works.
10 Ways to Train Your Inhibitory Control
Here are 10 practical strategies to work on your inhibitory control in your daily life:
- The Mental Traffic Light Game. Before reacting to something, think of a traffic light: Red: Stop. Yellow: Think. Green: Act. This simple exercise helps you curb impulsivity and make better decisions.
- 4-7-8 Breathing. When you feel a strong impulse (whether it’s anger, frustration, or impatience), try breathing like this: Inhale for 4 seconds. Hold the breath for 7 seconds. Exhale slowly for 8 seconds. This exercise activates the prefrontal cortex, which is the part of the brain that regulates self-control.
- The 10-Minute Rule. If you want something immediately (a snack, to check your phone, to reply to an impulsive message), wait 10 minutes before doing it. Often, after that time, the impulse has disappeared.
- Write Before Speaking. Before saying something in a discussion, write it on paper or on your phone. This forces you to process the information before reacting.
- The Non-Dominant Hand Challenge. Once a week, try doing everyday activities with your other hand (brushing your teeth, opening a door, writing). This forces your brain to stop automatisms and pay more attention.
- Backward Planning. Instead of doing the first thing that comes to mind, plan in reverse: start with the result you want to achieve and think about the steps needed to get there. This exercise trains the ability to think before acting.
- Mindfulness Meditation. Practicing mindfulness for 5 minutes a day significantly improves inhibitory control. You only need to sit in silence, close your eyes, and focus on your breathing. Each time your mind wanders elsewhere, return to your breathing. This way you train your brain to ignore distractions.
- Strategy Games. Games like chess, sudoku, or strategy card games strengthen planning and self-control abilities because they require thinking before each move.
- Impulse Tracking. For one week, write down each time you feel an impulse and how you reacted. At the end of the week, analyze how many times you could control yourself and how many times you couldn’t. Do you see a pattern?
- The Silence Challenge. Try to be silent for 5 minutes without doing anything: no phone, no talking, no music. It’s harder than it seems, but it will help you train patience and self-control.
Why is It Important to Train Inhibitory Control?
People with strong inhibitory control tend to make better decisions, manage their emotions better, and have better personal relationships. Additionally, it is a skill that can be improved with practice.
Final Challenge
Choose three of these 10 strategies and practice them for a week. At the end, reflect: Did you notice any change in how you react?