High Energy

We need to establish what part of us causes a lack of self-restraint. Someone can love sweets and know that too much is bad for them yet still overeat. The issue isn't knowledge since there is a definite grip on the facts. It isn't upbringing; although habits are formed that way. It is possible to despise one’s upbringing and go in an opposite direction. There are definite rules that we see outside our opinions and living a long healthy life is the right rule. But still we disobey them. A self-indulgent person has given up on restraining himself and so is a person given to vice. Both the indulgent and those given to vice have justified the bad behavior within them and are very hard to convince otherwise.

A person who wants to do right but lacks restraint errs in two areas. We see that those who are passionate struggle in this area the most. But if a passionate person is also energetic, it makes it even harder. Passion tends to override reason causing trouble for this person. But a person who is high energy has the issue of time added. Having high energy causes a person to make rash decisions due to impatience. Reason is only considered afterward. But in both cases, an incontinent person feels bad about it afterward and wants to fix things. It is a tough to be a high energy, passionate person who also cares and few people understand them. They tend to be under judgment and deal with guilt which is self- judgment; with a high degree of anxiety. But as they learn to understand themselves and work through things, there are a lot of benefits and enjoyment to this kind of personality. People tend to confuse them with the self-indulgent. A person given to self-indulgence tends to ignore the ramifications and feels the pleasure is due him. The focus is on getting the pleasure and ignoring the consequences. This kind of person almost impossible to help. These are the states of those who lack restraint and they vary in degrees. But passions and making rash decisions are things that cause people to err who want to do otherwise. We all deal with this in different areas of our lives.

There are interesting observations we can make toward those who have strong self-control and we will address it next time.