How to develop willpower to do even more

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

How many of you know how to be productive when you really need it? Able to cope with the urge to "stick" to your mobile phone and do nothing? Sleeping for seven or eight hours assigned to each and doing physical education every day? Nothing special, just today I continue to ask questions of strengthening willpower - the engine of human progress.

Let's remember what was discussed in the previous one about willpower. As we already know, it lends itself to training, although at first this process seems absolutely unrealistic to us. But I know from my own experience that this is not the case. Willpower, indeed, like a muscle, with due attention to itself, begins to grow steadily, or rather, to accumulate, like milliamperes in a battery.

Let's return to the definition we have already given to the power of will: it is the ability of a person to successfully cope with tasks, to decide for himself whether to be something or not to be. A strong-willed person, as a rule, has a high level of intrinsic motivation, will defend his decisions, even when he stumbles upon a serious disagreement with his own position in the opponent. On the contrary, it is psychologically easier for a weak-willed person to surrender as soon as possible to the mercy of the winner.

Whatever aspect of life we take seriously, be it healthy eating, productivity, or increasing writing speed, we first of all have to enter into an internal struggle with ourselves. And this, as you know, is our most dangerous enemy. Taking into account the knowledge gained earlier, we summarize: going against our own desires, we gradually spend our volitional reserves.

With willpower, we can focus on priority things and work without distraction until the job is done.

From a purely technical point of view, willpower plays mainly a supporting role in most of our basic life scenarios, but it is also the main component of success.

So, if we treat willpower as a muscle that can and should be regularly trained, then it becomes more powerful and allows us to engage in tasks that are really important for our life.

Unfortunately or fortunately, smartphones, fast food and social networks have entered our life and have become an integral part of it, without which some of us (oh horror!) Can no longer live peacefully. Everything would be fine, but only these things imperceptibly, hour after hour and day after day weaken our ability to fight for a place in the sun.

Therefore, when we really need to collect our thoughts and take a fist in order to start work on a new project, learn JavaScript, and maybe again lose three or four kilograms, we come to the sad realization of the fact: strength is no longer those…

Do not rush to get upset: the road will be mastered by the walking one.

How to get rid of doubts that hinder our self-realization

1. Eat healthy foods

Our brain is one of the most important vital organs associated with the proper functioning of the functions of the entire body.

If you treat your body like a trash can, then there is no need to dream that your brain will delight you with clarity and freshness of thinking.

By the way, the willpower will also weaken from this, so that decisions will be more difficult for you.

On the Internet, you can find a lot of information on how to eat right. Moreover, this "a lot" is growing in size at the speed of light, so fast that it becomes very difficult, if not impossible, to single out valuable knowledge without a doubt.

When it comes to nutrition, in this article I will present the recommendations of the notorious American writer and productivity apologist (Timothy Ferris). Ferris advises avoiding high-carbohydrate foods, such as bread and some pasta, and all types of fried foods during the workday whenever possible, in favor of healthy snacks.

At the same time, each such lunch must include dishes containing protein (an egg without yolk, chicken breast or boiled turkey), legumes (lentils, beans) and, of course, vegetables (spinach, asparagus, peas and regular summer salad).

Also, do not forget that humans are 90% water, so drink more. But in no case should it be sugary drinks and alcohol.

Finally, take in vitamins and essential supplements for the body: calcium, magnesium, and green tea leaf extract.

2. Get exercise

Let's again remember the popular wisdom: in a healthy body there is a healthy mind. Ideally, you should be able to periodically work from a standing position throughout the day, as well as take at least a minute to warm up.

You don't have to join an eventing club (although that's a great idea) or powerlifting to get fit. But everyone should be more active and subject their body to moderate stress.

Are you used to using the elevator? Start practicing walking up and down. Traveling home by transport? Find an opportunity to finish work early so you can take a walk.

These simple steps will help you burn more calories you have eaten and add vitality to you.

If you write lyrics, you will be surprised how much easier it is to think after a good walk. Yes, Steve Jobs was right about explicit.

3. Get enough sleep

Let's face it, boasting about how little you sleep and how much you do is no longer fashionable. Lack of sleep, that is, sleep lasting less than seven to eight hours a day, to the fact that our brain begins to work half-heartedly, as if you had missed a glass or two of something intoxicating. And this, you see, is not very volitional, right? Moreover, it is a direct road to neurasthenia.

And there is also data that allowed us to conclude: people who sleep less than they need, and have less income. So it goes!

Therefore, be responsible. At least an hour before bedtime, unplug your mobile, close your laptop, take your vitamins, and get ready to sleep well. I hope you understand that not having a TV in your bedroom is a prerequisite for healthy sleep. Even if you manage to oversleep, your productivity will be higher.

4. Meditate

Meditation teaches us to focus on a particular process in the body, such as breathing or heartbeat. The trick is that by sitting in complete silence and focusing on something like breathing, we also involuntarily train our body and mind to work together, training the ability to focus when we need it, regardless of any distractions around.

I was skeptical at first, but it really works. Now I have made it a rule to meditate for 10-15 minutes every morning after I wake up. If you have no idea how to do this correctly, try downloading applications created just for this purpose: or.

But take your time. Just having willpower isn't enough.

Learn not to rely on willpower for everything

If you want to successfully continue working on your personal growth, learn to use willpower sparingly. Otherwise, at the right time, its reserves may not be enough to achieve some great goal.

So, our next stage of work on ourselves will be training in controlling the use of your internal resources, which we need to perform both everyday and episodic, so to speak, tasks of a spontaneous nature.

1. From parts to whole

What's the idea? It is simple: conditionally divide a certain large task into a set of smaller subtasks, to complete each of which separately will not amount to significant efforts for you at a single point in time. Why is it important? Explaining. The worst enemy of willpower is a big problem that appeared on the horizon, like the Serpent Gorynych from an ancient Russian epic, covering the sun with itself.

Fearfully? Indeed, we are often frightened by the amount of work to be done. This happens for a purely psychological reason, as they say, fear has large eyes. You have to understand that making, say, a million in a month or two is an unrealistic task. However, this idea in itself is quite real, if you approach it wisely and strive for a monthly income of about forty thousand, then it will take about two years to receive this amount.

The essence of the goal is the same, and we have not yet reached it, but mentally we have already become closer to it. Thus, large undertakings and projects get a chance to become realized, and not gather dust on the "mezzanine" of our head for many years. Train yourself to think in this way: the more terrifying the goal that looms ahead, the more willpower you may need to get under way and begin to achieve it.

To summarize:

1. Divide the "pie" of your goal into eight to ten pieces, which will be in your teeth to "chew".
2. We are "targeting" the time it will take to achieve the result.
3. Let's get to work.

2. Get your own habits

We know: our whole life consists of little things, it would seem, not so significant. But this is not so: our habits, the actions that we perform from day to day and from year to year, and shape our lifestyle. We are what we think about, what we eat, what we read and with whom we communicate. All in all, this is good news.

We are used to not thinking about many things, the algorithm for the implementation of which our body has learned throughout our life. Agree, in order to brush your teeth or take a shower, we will not study the detailed instructions - everything is already known. However, assembling an ikeevsky chest of drawers or sorting out an "asterisk" on a bicycle, without detailed directives, you risk being wasted for several hours.

But people tend to become overgrown with not very useful habits. It could be a donut to add to your dinner, or the habit of setting the alarm every three minutes in advance to lie in bed. The more of these things we do without thinking, automatically, the more new habits we acquire.

But what if you accustom yourself to the right thing?

If everyone did that, they would manage to save a lot of willpower. It is useful for really necessary and important actions that can also be performed at the instinct level. Reassure yourself that you will get up early every morning to run in the park or do yoga. When you get used to this thought, start putting it into practice before this thought has lost its relevance. As a result, if you can hold out for at least 20 days without giving up weakness and not phony, your brain will include morning jogging in the list of actions number one, and the reserve of willpower will remain at the same, sufficient level.

So the algorithm:

1. Determine what you would like to achieve.
2. Highlight the items on the list that require volitional efforts on your part.
3. Think about what you could turn into a habit.

3. Be positive

Life does not always seem to us easy and full of joy, it happens that some events unsettle for a long time. The sad news is that willpower will not benefit from this additional resources. Why? Yes, because it is inherent in us to constantly think about problems, if they arise, scrolling through the head of possible solutions. People who are regularly under stress are prone to fleeting weaknesses of varying severity: from an extra cup of coffee to a five-hour "spree" in the malls.

Therefore, we turn to proven methods, the effectiveness of which we no longer have to prove.

Thinking about our mortal existence in a positive way, we greatly simplify our life and make it better.

There is one technique, the effectiveness of which has been confirmed by learned minds. And now I will tell you about it.

To add more joy to life, try asking the following questions every morning, opening your eyes after sleeping:

• What three things in my life can I be happy about today?
• What can make my day truly happy?
• What am I used to taking for granted?
• What are my personal advantages?

And I also advise you to start something like a logbook so that it becomes a habit to ask questions for real. Ideally, you should take notes both in the morning and before bed.

Now what?

So, if you are already inspired, ready to get down to business and start strong-willed training, then here are some practical tips for a quick start:

1. Try to understand what aspect of your life requires direct volitional intervention. Is it overweight? Or a fickle income? Could it be sleep problems? Most importantly, remember: do not grab onto everything at once.
2. Meditate. At least 10 minutes every morning.
3. Go to bed an hour earlier than usual and do not fall asleep with your mobile phone in hand.
4. Keep a log of events, recording things that make you happy every morning.
5. Set yourself up to one big goal, dividing it into eight to ten achievable milestones.
6. Think about what daily activities can gradually build up your willpower.

Be consistent and show at least a little perseverance, then everything will work out.

Viam supervadet vadens!