Have your ever said to yourself, “Why did I do that? That was stupid. I know better than that. Why don’t I have some control over myself?”
Hi and welcome back to Barr World where we are looking at your goals and what’s holding you back.
Let’s look at what happens every time your willpower fails. Whenever we do something to give ourselves short-term pleasure at the expense of long-term pain, 9 times out of 10 it is a bad decision.
Overeating, spending money you don’t have or is meant for something else, staying up too late, procrastinating, and just letting things go are all good examples of the types of things that cause us to wish we had more willpower.
Did you know that willpower is a limited resource? Research into willpower has discovered that it only works in the short-term. We need to have other strategies so we don’t fall in the short term and never reach are long-term goals. But, let’s not overlook the power of willpower.
Tips for helping your willpower
1. Plan ahead for your periods when you willpower will be low. Be smart. If you know you overeat at night, may you should have a variety of healthy snacks in the kitchen when you inevitably get the munchies.
- Use your past behavior to anticipate the future. Expect that you’re going to act the same way in the future unless you learn from it
“It is not often that nations learn from the past, even rarer that they draw the correct conclusions from it. – Henry Kissinger
- Find a way that you don’t get in the same situation from reoccurring or find some strategies to put in place to successfully avoid the situation.
- Remember successful individuals are good at learning from their mistakes and not repeating them.
2. Willpower is like a muscle. The more you use it, the more you will have. You strengthen a muscle by repeating an exercise or motion. Pushing yourself to use your willpower on a regular basis is a good thing as long as you avoid failure.
- For example, not sitting and reading the paper when you’re tired and instead push yourself to clean the garage will make your will power muscles stronger.
- Every day, take your toughest task and complete them. These can be a simple thing like cleaning the car, washing the dishes, or finishing that report. Those unpleasant but necessary phone calls. It really does get easier with time.
- Celebrate the wins. Every time you are successful in using your will power, celebrate the victory and be happy and grateful that you have so much self-control. Maybe a small reward is in order from time to time.
- Quit beating yourself up when you slip. Stop for a second, identify how you got into this bind and remember the circumstances so you can take a different action next time. Be just as diligent at making yourself feel good when successful.
3. Healthy Eating or over Tired. Research has discovered that low blood sugar or feeling exhausted can dramatically decrease willpower. Your brain needs a certain amount of glucose available for maximum self-control.
- Are you eating regularly and not skipping meals?
- Are you exercising regularly? Regular exercise can increase insulin sensitivity, which will help to maintain blood glucose levels. Not only is exercise good for your health, but it’s also great for your willpower too. Super!
- Cut back or our on simple sugars and processed carbohydrates snacks and meals. They will wreak havoc on your blood sugar.
- The next time your willpower is failing, eat something to get your blood sugars up. Consider having a piece of fruit or other appropriate snack. This might be all you need to get back on track.
Being successful long-term requires forethought and planning. If the ways you’ve behaved in the past are clear unavoidable predictors of your future, then change is impossible. But we know that’s not true, we can change. You can overcome and achieve your goals. Use the past to change the future by remembering the negative outcomes when you start to feel weak.
So now that you know that willpower is a short-term resource that you can use to plow through a challenge in the short term but it is not a long term solution. You have to put systems in place for the long-term challenges and it’s helpful to establish new habits that support your goals.
So grow more willpower by following these three tips and your willpower is sure to increase. Your long-term success and your goals depend on it.
If you learn from defeat, you haven’t really lost.- Zig Ziglar
Just one question, what are your little things that are keeping you away from your goals?
Drop me a line of leave a comment.
Hope this was helpful.
Chat soon
Percy Barr