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Everyone is always wishing they had more willpower. It is a mindset that we all hope will help us to achieve our goals and dreams, whatever they may be. However, willpower is a tricky thing. It’s not something that we just magically have, it’s not something we’re born with and it’s not something we can just wish for. Rather willpower is just like any other muscle in your body. As a result, you need to exercise your willpower regularly in order for it to gain strength.
What is Willpower?
Willpower is the ability to delay gratification for at least a short period of time. It allows you to focus in on and attain your goals. However, gaining more willpower is easily one of the most challenging endeavours. We live in a society driven by instant gratification so to exercise your willpower almost feels counter-cultural at times. But when you do exercise your willpower it is incredibly rewarding!
Benefits of Exercising Willpower
- Ability to stick to long term goals.
- Complete tasks/goals without distractions.
- Build mental strength.
- Resist temptations with ease.
Ways to Exercise Your Willpower
Working on your willpower means to invest in yourself. And it means you’re dedicating yourself to change. Positive change at that! So what are some ways to start exercising your willpower?
- Go to a place of temptation with the sole intention of not doing something. For example, go to the mall with the purpose of walking around for 10 minutes and then leaving without making a purchase. Or go to a coffee shop with the intention of not purchasing a baked good with your coffee. You will feel a surge on internal power each time you say no instead of saying yes.
- Meditate. Mediation has countless benefits for our mental and spiritual health. It is also a great tool for exercising willpower. Meditation has been shown numerous times to help boost self-control. Being in tune with yourself during mediation promotes more self-awareness when making choices later on.
- Pre-commit. Make it difficult to get out of an obligation (like going to the gym) or inconvenient to give into a temptation. For example, schedule a workout with a friend, leave your credit cards at home, or bring a healthy snack with you with running errands.
- Associate with your future self. I used to have a really bad habit of saying “that’s future Shannon’s problem” and putting off a task. Or I would eat something telling myself it was my future self’s issue to deal with. Talk about denial! The truth is the brain naturally has a habit of treating the future self like a stranger. So bring the future you into the present by asking yourself what your future self say to you in this moment of temptation? What does your future self really want?
- Journal. Journaling is a great willpower exercise because it asks you to get in touch with both your past and future selves. Journaling requires focus and self-reflection, both of which are excellent tools for exercising your willpower.
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