We're Out of Control!!!

The other day I was sitting in class, taking notes, and was fiddling with my pen, going through a period of fidgitiness, that comes and goes. And I was watching myself play with the pen in my hand, and it was suddenly like my hand wasn’t my own anymore, and I saw myself, in my head, chuck the pen across the room! I was surprised my body didn’t follow through with this impulse…In general, everybody has urges, but where do they come from? And if the onset is that instantaneous, how do we have the time to even resist that urge? Why didn’t I huck that pen across the room? …Where did the restraint come from? (I hope this happens to other people, otherwise I’m disclosing my inner crazy…)

Have you ever been in a situation where everything just seems right in the world, and you’re surrounded by great people, and you just feel the urge to jump in the air or skip or sing… Maybe you want to hug a random person you feel is down and you feeling very sympathetic, however if you did, it would just be really creepy. Or the opposite, maybe you’ve been so angry that it takes everything within you to keep from slapping another person…or worse! Could you imagine a world where people couldn’t control their urges? It would be complete mayhem, completely barbaric. I feel like self-control is one of the most unique qualities we humans have that sets us apart from all else. Or do we really have as much control as we think we do? Whatabout people who battle addictions, with drugs or alcohol? It is more socially accepted and therefore easier to submit to them in the first place? Look at people who have succumbed to them, and how extremely difficult it is overcome; they have to rebuild their self-control. So, is it all a practiced thing?

What is self-control exactly? And is it even true that humans are the only species that exhibit it? Are we really as unique as we think we are? Is there any evidence of animals showing this also? I’d have to do more research… but does anybody else have an opinion or facts that support either side? I wish I had more of an argument to present, but it’s just a thought. It’s very interesting…

picture:

http://www.ineedmotivation.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/self-control.jpg