To be successful, you must keep hitting your targets until you hit them. To keep hitting your targets consistently and consistently you need to have tremendous willpower. Here are 2 practical techniques to enhance it.
"Don't be sorry about what you couldn't do, only regret when you could and didn't want to."
Mao Tse-tung.
One quality that I have always admired in a person is the willpower.
You are using your willpower when you decide to wake up early in the morning to chase your goals, when you have sore legs and you decide to go out to do your workout, when you decide to work hard when you can't take any more of the hard work.
No, don't worry, willpower is not synonymous with workaholic, willpower is your ability to decide your destiny and to be consistent in pursuing it.
If self-discipline and willpower haven't been your forte in the past, it doesn't mean they can't be in the future. Here are 2 practical techniques to train and increase this very important muscle:
1. The left-handed technique
According to a Case Western Reserve University study, small changes in our daily routines can gradually increase our willpower. Here are some practical examples:
- As soon as you wake up in the morning, brush your teeth using your left hand (right if you are left handed).
- Replace the first gesture you make every morning (smoking a cigarette, turning on the computer, etc.) with a healthier action.
- If you're tempted to check your email or Facebook, postpone it for a few minutes.
- Make the bed.
In general, get used to doing what you are not used to doing, just because you decide to do it; just like if you were to write like a lefty.
Imposing yours willpower on these small actions it allows you to start a ripple effect that with each small conquest is followed by a more important goal.
2. The technique of silence
The second technique is a little more "extreme": the technique of silence. I first read about this exercise in Robin Sharma's The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari. The technique consists of do not talk for a full day, except in response to direct questions.
By remaining silent for an entire day, you are only conditioning yourself to do what you consciously decide to do, not just reacting continuously.
The more control you are able to have over your willpower, the more it will grow.
Do not allow external conditions, randomness or others to decide what you can or cannot do, what you can or cannot achieve. Always make your own decisions and stick to them using your willpower.
Willpower is a muscle: use it or you will lose it.
You know some mental tricks for develop willpower? If you like, tell me about it in the comments. Thanks.
