Lack of Willpower

Lack of Willpower
Closely related to commitment is willpower. Willpower could accurately be described as the unyielding determination to follow through with an intention. This is a little different than being committed to a goal. Willpower focuses more on the moment to moment decisions we make in relation to our intentions. Let’s face it; you can set all the intentions you want but if you don’t have the willpower to stick to them you won’t get far. Most of us have strong willpower until it’s tested by temptation. We’ll be sticking to a new healthy eating plan, feeling fine – until a coworker brings in a box of donuts. We’re committed to working on our goals every day – until we decide we’re not seeing results as quickly as we’d like.

The Remedy:
How do you strengthen your willpower? The best way I’ve found is simply to practice. Set an intention and stick to it like glue. You could start with smaller intentions if you feel overwhelmed by the bigger ones; for example, set an intention to avoid eating sugar for one day. If you’re used to eating sugar every day, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to strengthen your willpower. The most important thing is to not give up when you slip. If you give in to temptation once, simply strengthen your resolve and start again. The more you do that, the stronger your willpower is going to get. It is a process, however, so don’t expect yourself to display tremendous willpower right away. Just keep practicing setting intentions and following through with them and before long it will get easier to laugh at any temptations that come your way.