The Luxury of Self-Control

Growing up we’ve been taught that self-control is a test of willpower, determination, and sacrifice. In fact, self-control is an indulgence.

In order to practice self-control, you need access to the things that you’re willingly tossing aside. When we pass on the Friday morning donuts, it isn’t that we’re passing up something good, it’s that we’re foregoing the emotional tidal wave of joy and disgust that we know is coming after.

In fact, the ability to pass up on that pastry is a luxury in itself — if we didn’t have access to so much food, we wouldn’t be so quick to say no to a sweet treat. Abundance lets us practice self-control as a luxury, not a burden — you say no now because you can always say yes later.

As we buy, try, and eat more things, we see brands tap into this luxury of self-control as a way to differentiate themselves.

The Light Phone — or for those of us old enough to remember a time before cell phones — is a regular phone. Marketing itself as an accessory to your smartphone, The Light Phone (and soon The Light Phone II) gives customers the comfort to play with self-control without fully committing to it.

In Silicon Valley brands like Apple and Google have started leveraging self-control as a product update. Coined “Digital wellness” users now can regulate temptation with the slide of a finger.

And if you want to fully commit, brands like MUJI, Brandless, and Uniqlo have carved out a place for themselves by offering products that tout simplicity and basicness over fashion and features. Who doesn’t want to replace their smart toaster with a one that just toasts bread?

As we welcome brands and products that that reward our sense of self-control, it’ll be interesting to see the new ways companies will allow us to indulge in having a little bit less.

This article was part of The Next Page, Chapter’s bi-monthly newsletter that reveals some of the more surprising things that make us human, and gives you a glimpse of life at Chapter.