|
Five simple exercises for improving your willpower
Being successful is largely about gaining control over some aspects of the external world. But it's difficult to do that until you've got control over the internal world of yourself. In life, the strength of your self-discipline very often determines the likelihood of your success. Because of that, self-control is a skill worth developing.
And it is just another skill that can be practiced and improved upon - like tennis, playing the piano or programming a computer.
You can see evidence of this simply by watching children. Most of them have terrible self-control. They squirm, lose their tempers, and do the wrong thing no matter how much you threaten or reward them not to. A cookie jar and an adult with a turned-back is all it takes to shatter any child's self-discipline.
Yet even the most organized adult once went through the emotional roller-coaster of childhood. Just like a golf pro who once had never held a club until he started training, disciplined people coach themselves in the methods of power over the self.
Here are some simple exercises you can do if you need to build up your own willpower.
Drop a small bad habit
I went to the dentist for a check-up a couple of years ago and found I'd developed my first ever cavity. The dentist asked me if I'd been eating anything sweet. The only thing I could think of was the teaspoon of sugar I added to my twice-daily cup of tea. Apparently, doing this coats the teeth in sugar and leads to cavities.
No problem, I simply stopped putting sugar in my tea. At first, it didn't taste as nice, but now I actually prefer it that way.
This is an example of dropping a small bad habit. Other examples include giving up a regular afternoon snack, pressing the snooze button on the alarm clock, or having one too many coffees a day. Giving up something small but significant is great self-discipline practice.
Learn something boring but useful
Most people skip learning important skills simply because doing so is boooorrrrrriiiing. Consider skills like grammar, punctuation, financial literacy, technical skills and the like. I'm sure you can think of at least one such skill that you could do with brushing up on.
Go down to the library or bookstore and pick up a book on the topic you choose. Make sure it's something necessary that you have a distaste for. Now read that book all the way through within the next week.
Do something you know you should every day for a week
We all have things we know we should be doing but aren't. Perhaps for you it's regular exercise, household chores, or getting up earlier. Choose one such activity and set a week where you'll do it for a set amount of time every day. Make a rule with yourself that for every day you miss, you'll add two days to the end of that week.
Set yourself an achievable, but difficult goal with a date for reaching it
Build yourself a willpower game around a particular goal. Perhaps it could be giving up smoking, losing a certain amount of weight, or reading a particular number of books. Organized events such as fun-runs are also good.
Make sure it's something that's reachable with a high level of certainty (such as quitting smoking) as long as your will holds. In other words, no external events other than your own self-discipline should be able to have a major impact.
Developed a single-minded focus on achieving that goal by the set date. Don't let yourself pass the day without reaching it.
Have a month where you ban yourself from putting anything off
Every day we get tasks which can be done immediately, but usually aren't. Good examples are paying the bills, emptying the dishwasher, or starting a college assignment. Put aside a month where you'll refuse to allow yourself to put such things off. As soon as the task becomes known, force yourself just to do it. Don't allow yourself to wait for even five minutes before getting started, and get the task finished as soon as is humanly possible.
 | Don't get sucked in by empty promises | | I was at a work function last night where we were all getting treated to free drinks and food. There was a very attractive girl there who was enjoying the attention of many of the men. |  | Take the initiative in establishing new relationships | | The world is filled with people who are dissatisfied with the state of their relationships. They think they haven't got enough others in their lives, or else they believe the others they have aren't up to scratch. Whether it's friendships that are missing or something more, a lack of satisfactory relationships is a common complaint. |  | Don't hate your body too much, it's the most amazing machine on the planet | | We live in a society fixated on machines and gadgets. The media obsesses over iPods, BMWs, laptops and phones. And we consumers gobble up every titbit of information available on those topics. | | Science is the closest thing to verifiable truth that we have | | Wait! If you're the type of person who reads the word "science" in a title then moves quickly on, then this is an article you need to read. I promise it won't be boring. |  | Become excellent at creating new opportunities | | The scouts have an excellent motto. It says simply “Be prepared”. Whether or not you have ever been a scout or a guide, this is a good attitude to have towards life. | | Incompetent people tend to overestimate their skill level | | Something interesting happens to me whenever I try to learn a new skill. I tend to underestimate just how hard it's going to be. For some reason, part of me thinks I'm going to be naturally talented at it, even though I have no evidence for that being the case. | | We're all just lost at sea | | Picture this. You wake up to find yourself aboard a huge old sailing boat. You can't remember who you are, or where you were before. You can't even remember what your name is. | | Perfect contentment leads to stagnation | | Have a look at how so many of us live our lives. We get up in the morning, go out all day and work, work, work. Whether in a rich country or a poor one, a good neighbourhood or bad, you can be sure that most of the people around you will be working most of the time. | | Find the right balance between improving your situation and enjoying it | | There's a funny scene in the film "Thank you for smoking" where the main character, a public relations shill for the cigarette industry, is asked how he can do such an unethical job. "Everyone's got to pay the mortgage", he replies. | | The world's best investment | | Many people don't think of it consciously, but much of our lives are spent deciding how to invest our resources. Families decide whether to move into a bigger house, or save their money and stay in the current one. Young women decide which man they should bet their reproductive potential on. Workers ponder what they should do with their holidays. And so on. |
New articles are being added all the time, so make sure you bookmark Paul's Tips and come back.
|
|