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Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Willpower

I wanted to examine the root words for the concept of willpower.  According to Dictionary.com - will means to wish or desire and power means the ability to do or act.  So it would follow that willpower means to wish or desire the ability to do or act.  To be successful requires willpower.  But does it?  That seems contrary to the definition which clearly states that it is merely a wish for power - not a guarantee for success.

My Pop Pop used to say, "If wishes were horses, then beggars would ride."  He also said, "If wishes and buts were candy and nuts, my what a Christmas we'd have."  His point was that wishes aren't going to make it happen.

Willpower cannot be achieved without first gaining power over your mind or your mindset.   There are so many platitudes that remind us of this fact -

  • If you think it - you can do it. 
  • If it's important you can make it happen. 
  • Thoughts become things - make them good ones.
To believe in and set your mind to something changes the dynamics.  You're no longer wishing for power, you are setting the stage to believe in yourself and your goals.  What is your mind set?  Are you trying to achieve your goals purely through will?  Or have you bought into what you want, set your goals and built a belief system (mindset) that will help you become successful?

QUESTIONS FOR THE BLOG
 :
Have you ever experienced what it is like to try and accomplish something based merely on will - or the wish for success.  What did that feel like?
Now think about a time where you set out to achieve a goal with your mind, heart and body set for success.  How was that different.

ABUNDANT HEALTHY ACTIONS:
Think of a small goal.  Spend a day wishing for the power (willpower) to achieve the goal.  At the end of the day, how successful were you?  Then spend another day working toward the same goal with a firm plan, an open heart and a spirit of success.  Compare the results.

2 comments:

  1. I love this post, Gerri. And yes, I can think of a time. Mind-Body-Soul. Taking care of my mother in the last months of her life, all she really wanted were Peanut Butter Cups and V-8. Strange combo, but hey--- you do what you need to do. When I thought about it, it made sense. All the veggies in a juice. Salt, yes, but still veggies. Peanut Butter wrapped in chocolate. No muss. No fuss. It used to take every bit of my will power to travel from work to the grocery store, and then to the place where she lived to make sure she had company - and that she had been well fed. I loved that she knew what she wanted. To this day, I cannot eat a peanut butter cup, nor can I drink a V-8, but - she sure needed what they provided.
    RIP, Mom.

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  2. Willpower really is overrated. It might come into play when trying make a change - like forcing yourself out of bed to exercise in the morning. But this gets very tiresome for so many reasons. I have found it works so much better to remind myself of all the good reasons why I'm exercising or walking in the morning. When I associated good things with an activity, then it soon takes on those good feelings too - this has nothing to do with willpower and everything to do with mindset and has much longer term benefits!

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