Whether it is self-control, self-restraint, self-help, self-improvement, self-development, self-discipline, or the like, any exercise starting with the prefix "self-" is going to be limited. The limiting factor is identified in the prefix.
Sure, a person with enough determination and/or talent can make remarkable gains and orchestrate what some would consider a good life. But such a life pales in comparison to a life in grace and doesn't lead to eternal life. Who possesses enough self-sourced goodness to not be bent toward selfishness or to at least occasionally satisfy his or her carnal appetites?
The key to victory is found in Jesus, Who by "His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust." (2 Peter 1:3-4).
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