“Where there is a will there is a way”
Exercise is good for your health, you know that! But sometimes you end up watching TV instead.
Maybe you want to start a business, go back to school, or work on your professional development plan but, you can’t seem to get it together.
“I wish I was more disciplined,” you say. You wish you had more control over your life. You wish you could make decisions, plans and follow through with them. YOU CAN!
It is amazing that a person might have an amazing intellect and credentials, yet, is a complete failure. Not because they can’t, but because they lack will power. On the other hand a man may possess just moderate abilities and yet achieve great success. That’s right – because of will power.
Let’s start with the definition of willpower:
Willpower is the ability to will your mind to do something regardless of your circumstances, feelings or states of mind.
Wouldn’t it be nice to say that you want to do something and just do it? Wouldn’t it be nice to say you want to take a walk today after work and do so? When you want to change jobs, or start a business or go back to school – wouldn’t it be nice to just do it and succeed at it regardless of whatever obstacles or fears you have in your path? Will power! Will power is all you need to get things done. Cultivate it and you might be surprised to what you can achieve in your life.
Will Power Exercises:
Will power is like any other muscle you have; if you exercise it will get stronger. Fortunately life is full of opportunities to exercise your will power.
Anytime you feel the resistance to doing something, that is an opportunity to practice and exercise your power of will.
You feel lazy? Just do it anyway. Feel overwhelmed? Cut down the size of the project into smaller pieces and just do it! Procrastinating? You know what to do – push yourself through.
Will yourself to do what it is that think or feel you can’t do. Every time you do that you are building your will power muscle.
- When you come home from work and you see the dishes piled up and you know you need to do them. “Maybe later” you say to yourself. Shake that feeling off and do the dishes NOW.
- When you have the desire to eat a piece of chocolate, will yourself not to eat it now. Set a specific time to eat it on the next day, or give yourself a task and reward yourself with the chocolate.
- When you find yourself feeling a negative emotion that you know will bring on other negative emotions. Will yourself to change tracks.
- When you have other things to do and you find yourself watching TV, will yourself to do what you need to do and reward yourself afterwards with tv time.
Start with one exercise and build from there. Each time you will yourself to do something you are training your mind to follow your command.
By developing the power to follow your own dictates, you are developing your will power. Eventually, when you decide to do something you can summon every inch of your body and mind to help you do it.
Just think of the benefits – if you allow other things to get in your way of doing what you really want to do or really have to do, you will live in internal chaos – one day you feel lazy, one day you feel sad, one day you do things and one day you just sit there doing nothing. Not what you want? If not, then start practicing on doing what you really want to do.
Developing your will power one step at a time will enable you to master what you do and get what you want
More Resources:
How To Boost Your Willpower : The New York Times
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Peter Khoury & Alan Ovson
Speakers, Trainers, Coaches
Ovson Communications Group
peter@ovson.com
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