Here is a brilliant
quote from the Dalai Lama that will inspire you take action and achieve your
goals:
“Human potential is the
same for all. Your feeling, “I am of no value”, is wrong. Absolutely wrong. You
are deceiving yourself. We all have the power of thought – so what are you
lacking? If you have willpower, then you can change anything. It is usually
said that you are your own master.” Dalai Lama
Isn’t that right? If
you have the willpower, you can change anything. Along with intelligence and
self-control, willpower is the personal trait most predictive of a good life.
Success in life depends
on your ability to do what you want to do. If you want to manage your learning
and your life, you have to have self-control so you can decide and then act.
That’s it. Have the willpower and make it happen!
But if willpower is so
important, is it possible to increase it? Yes, science has shown that it
actually is.
Here are 4 strategies:
4 ways to increase your
willpower
1) Don’t keep yourself
in a constant state of willpower depletion
Weight lifting is an
excellent way to build muscle. But you won’t help your friend move his
furniture half an hour before you do weights because your muscles will be
fatigued. The same holds true for willpower. While wisely exercising
self-control is a great way to build willpower, never giving yourself a break
is a good way to deplete your resolve.
2) Think about
something else
Mischel’s famous
marshmallow study found that “high delayers” resisted eating the marshmallow by
distracting themselves, such as covering their eyes with their hands or turning
around in their chairs so they couldn’t see the enticing object. You can do the
same with willpower. Whenever you feel like you’re about to give up, focus your
mind on something else!
3) Building good
habits; you’ll need them when you’re stressed
Stress has been to
shown to deplete willpower. When people are stressed, they to fall back into
harmful habits.When you observe yourself doing this, you know you’re stressed,
so take steps to reduce your stress like listening to calming music or
exercising – whatever works for you. This will help you when a major stressor
comes along.
4) One step at a time
Often times, people
lose their willpower because of the enormity of a particular task. Instead,
break up the big task into smaller tasks. It will feel much more manageable and
you’ll be more likely to complete it.
5) Be yourself
It takes an enormous
amount of effort to suppress your normal personality, preferences, and
behaviors. Not surprisingly, doing so depletes willpower. Psychologist Mark
Muraven and colleagues found that people who exert this kind of self-control in
order to please others were more easily depleted than people who held true to
their own internal goals and desires.
You can find the
original post here.
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