Creating Willpower

Creating Willpower


May 16, 2010 by Joe Gigantino
What is willpower? Have you ever tried to define it?

My guess is no. In fact I believe the reason we don’t ask this question is because we can blame willpower if we don’t follow through with our goals. We prefer to allow the mystery to exist. Haven’t we all heard someone say that they either didn’t have enough willpower or somehow lost their willpower?

Many of us still believe that willpower comes and goes with the wind. It’s unpredictable with uncertain loyalty. Although it seems rather odd, I witness many people using willpower as an excuse to cushion their fall from reaching goals.

Willpower: is energetic determination…and that’s it!

The first thing we all need to realize is that willpower is available to each and every one of us. It’s not handed out at birth based on your genetic blueprint or later in life based on size or smarts. It’s truly there for the taking and it’s FREE. It’s important to realize that based on your lifestyle (conditioned or habitual behavior) you should be able to determine your level of willpower.

What do I mean by this? Well, I ‘m sure we all understand that the longer we habitually do something a certain way, it is that much more difficult to change. Whether it’s sleeping patterns, watching TV, exercise or how we eat.

Examples:

For the person who routinely gets up at 6:00am and starts their day off with a brisk walk; it would be reasonable to assume that they would have the willpower to successfully begin an early morning workout program with a trainer at the gym. Another person who routinely sleeps in would be at a different willpower level and would most likely fail if they tried to establish the same early morning training program at the gym. A more realistic expectation would be for the latter person to gradually build their willpower by setting their clock to get up a half hour earlier each day. As this first step becomes conditioned (usually 3-4 weeks) they then are ready for the next step. Along with my first person that regularly got up early, they too (after 3-4 weeks) are now ready for the next step in their progression to reach their health and fitness goals; to lose weight, get fit etc.

I have personally used this system of creating willpower to accomplish the goals I’ve set for myself. These simple steps of progression can make huge differences! Understanding the concept of willpower can make great positive influences on your life.

Stop saying “I don’t have” or “I can’t” and start saying, “I do have the willpower to…” “I will!”

As we begin a new week, my hope is that each one of us recognizes exactly what level we’re on. Let’s “set our alarm clocks ½ hour early”.

As you prepare yourself for the next step, we would enjoy hearing from you. Leave your comments so we all can benefit on how ‘creating willpower’ is bringing you closer to your goals!