What is Willpower & How to Build It
There are plenty of types of personalities out there.
Some are determined.
And some give up at the first sight of conflict.
We associate willpower with something complex.
Yet, it’s best when we view willpower as something simple.
The willpower of a human will determine whether they become great or fail miserably.
Quitting showcases the weakness of willpower or sharp judgment.
‘How can you bring up 2 polarities like that?’
Well, sometimes, quitting is smart.
Let’s say you’re a 45-year-old man who is 4 foot 7, dreaming to become a center in the NBA.
This may be a dream you pursue for a while.
Until one day, you come to terms with the ridiculousness of the goal.
Mainly due to physical setbacks.
A lot of goals aren’t like that though.
Many times we quit just because we have weak willpower.
Can it be strengthened?
Of course.
And that’s what this post is about.
What is WillPower?
Will power is defined differently by different people.
I define willpower as:
The ability to take purposeful action despite the good and the bad.
That’s you extending past duality.
You show up whether you feel like it or not.
It’s easy to show up when things are going well.
However, it’s difficult to show up when we aren’t seeing improvement.
Or worse, when we are seeing negative improvement lol.
During those moments, we may:
- Quit.
- Carry out the actions with a loss of enthusiasm.
Both of the acts showcase poor willpower.
Especially part 2.
Quitting means you have thrown in the towel.
At least, there was a commitment.
But doing tasks in a lazy fashion is bad because not only are you showcasing poor willpower…
You are also showcasing indecision.
No thanks…
How To Improve Will Power?
Earlier in this blog, I said that will power was about simplicity, not complexity.
So here’s my solution for a stronger willpower:
- Understand that willpower is a muscle that can be exercised.
- Exercise the muscle by constantly bringing yourself BACK to the task at hand.
Step 1 is the philosophy.
Step 2 is the practical aspect.
Both reinforce one another.
The philosophy aspect is learning the art of a growth mindset.
A growth mindset is when we believe anything worth learning can be learned as long as we have the physical faculties for it.
If you have the physical faculties for it, now it’s a game of the mind.
In order to internalize this philosophy, we must put it into practice.
And the practice comes down to utter simplicity.
Just bring yourself BACK to the task at hand fam.
The reason I used the word “BACK” is to illustrate that the assumption is already being made that we will stray away.
It’s just human nature.
Let’s say you are starting a New Year’s resolution to go to the gym.
You may be motivated in the beginning stages.
But there may be a point when you stray away from the goal.
At that moment, you have the perfect chance to exercise willpower.
Sort of like a mental rep.
Why Will Many Fail with Willpower?
Many will fail with willpower because they simply don’t understand the concept of bringing themselves BACK.
That’s it.
This is one reason why people fail at meditation.
They sit down to count their breaths.
As they start counting their breaths, they get distracted by the mind.
Which is to be expected…
The goal is to just make yourself aware and bring the mind BACK.
However, this is when they start getting too intellectually involved.
- ‘Am I doing something wrong?’
- ‘Why am I not figuring this out? I mean I have been practicing meditation for a staggering 3 minutes.’
- ‘Is meditation a scam?’
Blah blah blah.
Making everything complex.
Just shut up & bring your awareness BACK.
Likewise, we do the same thing with following a task thru.
We get to intellectually involved, making everything complex.
At times, intellect is needed.
However, other times, intellect is meant to be suspended.
And the heart needs to be showcased.
Willpower requires heart.
And anytime you are showing that heart, the less thinking, the better.
Just shut up and bring yourself back to the task.
You strayed…
All good.
We all do.
Just realign yourself BACK to the path as a slightly stronger version of yourself.
That ‘slightly’ will turn astronomical as long as you stay consistent.
How Long Does it Take to See Improvement?
I believe anything worth doing in life requires an investment time of at least 6 months.
That’s the mantra.
6 months or bust.
The reason I don’t follow the 21 days to build a habit rule is because it doesn’t work for me.
21 days feels too light.
There are a lot of micro bad habits that need to be worked out.
Limiting beliefs, poor lifestyle, poor friends, etc.
21 days does not seem to present enough time.
6 months primes your mind to think long term.
And even though this seems daunting…
It brings out even MORE enthusiasm.
You set into your venture with realistic expectations & feel like you are truly committing to something.
Imagine how many people would have amazing physiques if they committed at least 6 months for their New Years resolution.
Rather than saying ‘we’ll see how it goes.’
6 months or bust.
For 6 months, just keep bringing yourself BACK to the task.
Do the task with FULL enthusiasm.
You’ll be surprised how much stronger your internal motivation becomes.
Once the 6 months are done, you will find it difficult to stop, even if you wanted to…
Building an Iron Will
Willpower is a powerful soft skill.
It does not discriminate against anyone.
And can be manifested in any position of life.
Whether you’re a home keeper, an entrepreneur, college student, etc.
Willpower is a skill set that anyone should look to improve.
The world has enough lazy bums.
However, the world has a few hard workers with social skills.
If you can exercise your willpower, that’s when you adopt a growth mindset.
A growth mindset makes you a pleasant person to be around.
Not always being negative or competing with others.
Rather, spreading abundance & becoming a creator.
The willpower of a person is a direct look into their character.
And it’s that character that will allow them to stand the ups & downs of the game of life.
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– ArmaniTalks 
