145 Willpower

According to merriam-webster dictionary, willpower is the ability to control one’s own actions, emotions, or urges and also strong determination that allows one to do something difficult. In layman’s terms it is the ability to do what you want to do, when part of you doesn’t want to do it.

People use different definitions to describe willpower, According to APA (American Psychological Association), most psychology researchers define willpower as:

• The ability to delay gratification and resist short-term temptations to meet long-term goals;
• The capacity to override an unwanted thought, feeling or impulse;
• The conscious, effortful regulation of the self, by the self;

Anywhere you look at it, people with greater willpower are:

• Happier;
• Healthier;
• Wealthier 

The good news is willpower is a skill that can be learned and improved and, it can be surprisingly easy to learn, as one example from the Marshmallow test. This test proves scientifically that we have the ability to learn delayed gratification. You can google Marshmallow experiment. 

The not so good news is that willpower is a limited resource capable of being depleted. So we must train ourselves to strengthen our willpower skill. 

1. Everything starts with awareness: Know your strengths and weaknesses. Let your strength shine through. So often we think other people know more than me, but the truth is we all know alot, but about our own area of expertise. So focus on your strength. Focus on what you want instead of what you don’t want. 
2. Make faster and determined decisions. Stay away from decision fatigue. Indecision is such a killer to your willpower, it’s the big drainer of your power bank. 
3. Avoid temptations. You have the ability to say no, when you need to say no, and yes when you need to say yes. So set boundaries so that you are not faced with temptations. Why kill your brain cells over temptations, it’s just not worth it. 
4. Set clear goals and have an execution plan.
5. Don’t be so hard on yourself. Give yourself a backup plan. 
6. Change our perception about will power. For example, many people think that what the addict needs is willpower, but nothing could be further from the truth: When a person has already lost control over a drug or activity, attempts to control its use almost never work. Because the source of addiction isn’t the drug or activity itself but a desire for a mood changer. So instead of focusing on simply using your will power, get to the root of the problem then you don’t need to use your willpower in such cases. 
7. Feed Your Brain train your ability to find motivation when it matters

In conclusion, your mind has to be stronger than your feelings. We all have those days where we don’t feel like it. Now I’m totally preaching self love and it’s ok to take a break when you need to, like when you’re sick it’s ok to take a day off. But what I”m talking about here is when we all have those days where we just can’t FEEL our willpower. Your feelings will push you to do things that you might later regret. That is why we need to have a strong mindset.

Willpower gets depleted and is not enough. We need to constantly train our mind to step up and take control over our sluggish feelings. When you train your mind, you gain a renewed sense of self-worth and confidence. You begin to see that you can conquer any obstacle and achieve what you set your mind to.

Develop small but powerful daily Habits so that you’re moving forward without even having to use your willpower at all.

Training your mind to be stronger than your feelings is worth it.

And like any other thing in life, start today.