- Meditate
Meditation will increase your willpower
I am sure you have already heard how meditation can have profound benefits for your life. Among many of its benefits is the ability of meditation to increase your willpower.
Studies have found that meditation can increase the density of gray matter in the prefrontal cortex. The prefrontal cortex is the region of the brain responsible for self-control or willpower among many other things.
In other words, simply meditating every day can significantly improve your willpower. Considering that meditation provides a series of additional health benefits such as your ability to reduce stress and slow down aging, it is something I could not stop recommending.
Avoid exhausting your willpower
You only have a limited amount of will power. While exercising your willpower can increase it a little each day, it is still a limited resource.
Think about it this way ...
Weight lifting is an excellent way to build muscles. But you're not going to lift weights for an hour just before a long hiking trip. Your muscles would be too tired to enjoy the long walk.
You would also not exercise every day of the week without a rest day.
The important point is that you have to make the correct use of your willpower to keep it in shape. But it is also equally important to give your will a rest. The best is to achieve a balance between the two.
Otherwise, once your will power is exhausted it can become stress which will inactivate your prefrontal cortex. This can result in uncontrollable mood swings and indulgences (for example: eating unhealthy foods). This is usually followed by a feeling of defeat that can cause you to fall back into old unhealthy habits.
So if you are not careful and try to do too much at once, this will exhaust your willpower which can result in a vicious circle. It's like running without fuel. Trying to do things all the time with low willpower is an infallible way to prepare for failure and never achieve your goals.Keep a diary
Keep a diary with your goals
Although I've never been a big fan of keeping a diary.
But once I started keeping a diary plus regular meditation, my willpower skyrocketed. I swear that these two things are the reason why I am experiencing more personal success than ever before in my life.
Like meditation, the journal gives you the unique opportunity to reflect on your day, your personal goals and much more.
Another thing you can do in your journal every morning or night is to write down 3 things for which you are grateful. This is called a gratitude journal in the world of personal development.
Countless studies have shown that gratitude journals can have profound effects on your life. It is specifically shown that it significantly increases happiness, motivation and general well-being.
Not only are these moods fantastic for your willpower, they also decrease the frequency of negative emotions that end up resulting in stress. And stress drains your willpower completely.
- Be a teacher in the art of building good habits
Having good habits is invaluable.
This is because when you are stressed you are much more likely to fall into old habits.
But if you build healthy habits and are going through an emotional downturn or a lot of stress, this will significantly lessen your damage.
For example: people often fall back into alcohol at the end of a stressful day. But what would happen if you had trained to take a 10-minute walk each time you were anxious to drink alcohol? It may not work at the beginning but over time if you adhere to this habit, your body will begin to long to walk in place of that glass of wine.
It is best to choose a stress management technique that most resonates with you. Once you find something that works, try it every time stress makes you want to enjoy something.
- Be yourself
I realize that being your true self is much easier said than done. The problem of hiding your true self is that it drains your strength of will and energy.
Think about it.
The main reason why we act differently in certain situations is to fit. For this we must quickly analyze what kind of people we have around. So we must make educated guesses about what kind of person these people are going to like. This a mental process exhausting.
On the other hand, when you do not care about what people think of you, you do not waste any effort analyzing the people you are with. I know just you and you will see that you will like people more. This is because you will be a better listener and radiate authenticity.
Like will power, being yourself in social situations is a skill that you learn. Having said that, here are some tips you can follow to do it a little more.
Take your time to get to know yourself. Try to separate your values and aspirations from what people have pressed you to love. A classic example of this is going to college because everyone expects you to do it. The university is not for everyone.
Learn to appreciate your strengths and embrace your weaknesses. Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses no matter what they are. Meditation can help you with this process.
- Be a strategist
If you approach the problems of life with strategy, life becomes much easier and the same goes for willpower.
For example, if you have difficulty resisting eating chocolate during your work day, keep it out of sight. Somewhere far from your sight. Otherwise, if your favorite chocolate bar is there next to you all day, it will constantly drain your willpower.
If you still can not resist being lenient with you, then use a container with a time lock. These containers allow you to put your sweets in a container that is only unlocked after a set time. So you can put it in say 5 hours. This way you will not be able to eat that candy until the timer runs out.
For some people, a container with a time-blocker allows them to forget about their cravings because they know they can not get it until the time is up. This is a fantastic way to conserve willpower.
- Help your willpower
Although many of these tips will help you increase your willpower, it is important to always look for ways to improve yourself. In other words, you must always have a personal goal in which to work.
And no, I'm not talking about setting goals to buy a new house or earn more money. I'm talking about the goals that will improve you as a person.
By constantly having a goal of self-improvement that you are working on, your willpower will improve. It takes willpower to stick to a new goal and get to the end. In addition, you will slowly create momentum and begin to crave activities that nourish your mind, body and soul.