Self-governance. This is a term you seldom hear but it is crucial to the success of every person. It is part of what defines a leader and important in the success of any business.
If you’re own a business or run one, you must know and embody the critical values of a leader. Humility. Sacrifice. Truth. Value for others. Freedom. And self-governance. Having these values and adapting them to the way we conduct our business and personal affairs increases the chances of success in all we do.
What is self-governance?
The term self-governance may seem intimidating to a lot of people. Perhaps it’s because it’s not an easy thing to do.
By definition, self-governance is exercising control over oneself. It is characterized by self-control and discipline. It is delaying gratification in exchange for long-term benefits.
Given this premise, it is no wonder a lot of people veer away from it. Especially today where we have grown so used to getting instant gratification. Everything is digital and instantaneous. Patience is getting rarer and rarer as the days go by.
Think about it
Your decision to hold out on instant gratification for better things in the future can actually give you more freedom than you think. It may be hard to deprive yourself of some conveniences and luxuries now but if you do that, you are no longer a slave to your emotions and desires. It makes you more in control of yourself.
Present-day sales and marketing have constantly gotten us to focus on the immediate acquisition of goods and services. We need to get it now. ; Having self-governance is walking past these temptations and saying to yourself, I choose to forego this momentary and temporal satisfaction because good things come to those who wait.
This mindset proves to be very beneficial when applied to the way you handle your business and affairs. For instance, if you’ve been planning to start a health and wellness business for the longest time but you keep putting it off because you get easily distracted by a lot of things, such as excessive spending, mismanaged time, and other similar things, you will never get that business off the ground.
Unless you start making changes in the way you live, until you come to the point that you confront your distractive and destructive behavior, the goals you have in life will remain just that — goals. Never realities.
It also has to deal with one’s integrity. Self-governance is having the mindset to do what is right and what needs to be done even if no one is around.
This one’s tougher. You’re no longer just being mindful of your behavior, you’re looking deeper into your character, too.
Saying “no” to things is behavioral. Living a life of integrity behind closed doors is internal. It’s a heart issue.
Ask yourself this: if no one was watching you and if there were no rewards (or punishment) for doing (or not doing) your work, would you still give it your very best?
Built to last
For this reason, integrity is a standard that is harder to measure unless consistency is manifested in your life. Self-governance safeguards and promotes greater integrity in a person. It protects you from things that can harm you and put your future at risk. It gives you the strength of character to do what needs to be done, no matter how challenging it is.
Its rewards are far better than being impulsive and impatient.
Several studies have been conducted before. These studies found that those who exercise self-governance find themselves in a much better place in life after some time. This means that in the long run, having the propensity for self-control and discipline helps improve people’s lives significantly compared to those who don’t.
It helps keep problems and headaches at bay.
Discipline and self-control give you the ability to, for lack of a better term, resist the devil and flee from him. Consider this: those that have built the habit of practicing self-control will rarely find themselves in situations that will require them to exert effort in controlling themselves because, as opposed to those who live dangerously on the edge to prove they can control themselves, they have the common sense to stay as far away from the edge as possible.
It makes you more productive and fruitful.
Lastly, self-governance is valuable to any business and organization. Imagine your workplace if people knew how to properly behave. Imagine how productive your company would be if people did the right things and avoided wasting their time and the company’s limited resources doing unproductive things.
More emphasis should be given to the value of self-governance. After all, given the long-term benefits it brings, it makes perfect sense if we all learn to apply it in our lives. Self-governance sets us up for long-term success.
