There are few character strengths more essential and central to success—academic, social, professional, familial—than self-control. Without self-control, no amount of intelligence, wealth, social connections, good grades, or charm will allow the individual to attain and maintain success and happiness. More than many character strengths, self-control can be readily learned and practiced. Readers will discover here that self-control is a discipline like any other that requires steady effort, application, and repetition. Readers will also be shown that the payoff is huge—a life in which one's potential is realized and allowed to flourish unfettered by self-defeating behavior and thought. As if this were not valuable enough, the content also conforms to many of the Common Core reading standards for instructional texts, including the identifying of an author's point of view and purpose; the identifying of main ideas and their supporting details; the analyzing and evaluating of an argument's structure, development, and effectiveness; and the summarizing of text.