Using willpower the right way

Our will is strong when we are continuously rewarded for our actions – when we commit to a single goal and fight until we have reached it. That sounds like a plan, but things often turn out differently.

Setbacks and a lack of success lower our motivation. When the first doubts arise, many begin to stagnate or give up. When our motivation runs dry, our volition shows.

Volition describes our perseverance and our power to get things done, even when we don’t feel any positive emotions doing so. When we try to change our behaviour, this power is decisive.

Our willpower dwindles with every opportunity – every time we have to choose between “giving up” and “carrying on”.

Most of our actions are the result of decisions. Every time we make one of these decisions, we question our intention. Effort and reward are weighed against each other – and this weighing costs us valuable willpower.

There is a simple solution. In many decisions, the wrong option is also the more comfortable one. To reach our goal anyway, we follow a strategy set in advance. It gives us clear guidelines, and decisions are made on the basis of our values. False temptations are then easier to recognise and avoid. It is important not to keep weighing things up, but to trust our values.

Our values are set at the beginning and then followed without doubt. We must not question ourselves with every decision. Whether we would rather take the easy way must be out of the question. Each of these considerations costs energy. Otherwise, by the end of the day we will make the wrong decision – simply because we no longer have the willpower we need.

Unnecessary decisions should be avoided altogether. This saves time and, above all, willpower. Choosing clothes, food and much more can be replaced by a system.

Our willpower is not something we can rely on. In many situations it is weakened by the process itself. Diets are a good example: by giving up certain food groups, familiar sources of energy are missing. The lack of energy affects our mental performance – and with it, our willpower.

This mechanism also works the other way round: the capacity of our mental decision-making power is linked to our diet. A good point of contact for this is Dave Asprey.

Two things have proven effective for strengthening our willpower: meditation and physical exercise.

Personally, a method by Mel Robbins has helped me a lot. We often know exactly what we should choose. But just before we start, our brain holds us back. What is missing is one last impulse to begin. In this situation it helps to count backwards from 5 and simply start at 0. It sounds too simple to work – yet this simple method should not be underestimated.