Top 3 Strategies To Better Rule Your Spirit

How To Be a Man That Rules His Spirit Well

It's required of all men to have self-discipline. It's what creates in us character, integrity, and the ability to rise above the chaos. Proverbs 25:28 tells us that a man without self-discipline is like a city without a wall. Broken down is that city, it's in ruin, taken by any invader, and in great danger.

He that has no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls.
Proverbs 25:28

To rule over something is to have control over that thing. In the case of our spirit, it can be our passions, such as anger, or our appetites, such as food and drink. This reminds me of Titus 2:2.

Here Paul says, that the older men must "be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in love, in patience." It's the sobriety here that aligns with our understanding of self-control. To be sober is to be temperate. Which is the "moderate indulgence of the appetites and passions." In other words, self-control.

Though not stated in the text, we can see what the man who does rule his spirit looks like. He would have walls around his city that are not broken down. His city would be strong so that no army could take it. This man has self-control.

What can we glean from this? That the man with self-control is wise and virtuous. He maintains proper governance of his passions and appetites. He does not let them run wild against reason or his conscience. This rule of self also applies to his thoughts, desires, inclinations, and resentments. Everything is in good order and under his control.

As such, the opposite is true for the man that does not rule his spirit well. This man, when temptation comes, gives in to excessive eating and drinking. He does not govern himself nor his passions, and as such, lashes out in anger or excitement. His life is one of misrule and leads to all that is good turning to his harm. He is an easy prey of the enemy because he is weak in his ability to resist temptation. Giving into lust, gluttony, and unjust anger.

"And they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire."
Nehemiah 1:3

3 Strategies for Better Self-Control

Journaling

Journaling is how we can process our thoughts, emotions, and tasks. By spending time daily to write down what we've done, need, and want to do, we get a better perspective on our day.

I started journaling about 19 years ago. My current approach is to start each day on a new page with the date and the day of the week; i.e., 2024.05.27 - MON.

Below the date, I write the current time, add a signifier, and then write about my morning. This should be short and to the point because we don't want to add more friction to the process than necessary.

It's a good idea to write down the day's top three to-dos next. until we finish these top tasks, all other to-dos must wait. If nothing else gets done, having these three items checked off a win for the day.

As the day progresses, repeat this process. Write the time, capture what you've done since the last entry, and write any to-dos that have come up. Don't work on new tasks if your top three are not done. This process happens every time you take a break or when your attention needs to shift from one task to the next.

Build Routines

Setting up routines is the best way to get the good habits on autopilot. When we don't have to think about what to do next, we free up our mental capacity for more important work.

It's best to have your first routine kick off as soon as you wake up. You can use what James Clear, the author of Atomic Habits, calls "habit stacking". To do this, we start with a trigger that always happens, such as waking up.

Here's an example:

After I wake up, I will drink a glass of water. After I drink a glass of water, I will exercise. After I exercise, I will shower. After I shower, I will pray and read the Bible.

This example is a routine that triggers each habit off the previous one. When it's written out as such, it's called an "implementation intention." When starting these, it's best to add one habit at a time. So for your first week, you may only have the habit of drinking a glass of water immediately after waking up.

It's best to start small when building your routines with the habits you want to cultivate in your life. For the habits you want to uproot, add more friction to them so they are more difficult to achieve. As an example, say you want to stop snacking on junk in the afternoon. What you might do is not buy the foods you crave in the afternoon. Since the food is not there, you won't be able to eat it.

Proper Diet

If you're like me and tend to overeat, you may find a high-protein diet to be useful in cutting back the temptation. Eating lots of carbs, such as oatmeal and bread for the first meal creates cravings as the day progresses. This causes overeating and is almost always food that is junk.

When eating only protein for the first meal, we end up satiated. The desire to overeat decreases. There is also the benefit of understanding the difference between hunger and boredom. When satiated by protein, it's much easier to know when our minds want food to occupy itself.

You may also find intermittent fasting helpful in this area. If you struggle with eating out of boredom, pair your high-protein first meal with skipping breakfast. You'll learn what hunger feels like and will be able to identify when your mind wants to be "entertained" by food.

Being a man of self-control and discipline takes work. We can lose the dedication required as easily as losing consistency in working out. Yet, it's not about never dropping the ball. Instead, it's about starting up again as soon as possible once you do drop off.

If you want to be a more fruitful man of God, check out the Fruitfulness Framework.