Is it possible to educate your will?
Psychology defines will as the control system that guides behaviour, that can be activated by an object or conscious goal. It identifies two aspects: intention (decision) and determination to act.
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‘Where there’s a will there’s a way’ is a phrase used a lot, and like as popular sayings there’s a lot of truth to it. Will is the motor that drives a person’s values and abilities, taking you further than even intelligence can.
What is willpower?
It’s the ability to focus on achieving a long-term objective, resisting and overcoming temptation in the process. It’s related to better results in the main areas of life: excellent academic results, a lower rate of substance abuse, better physical and mental health and better self-esteem.
Knowing what you have to do or having good intentions isn’t enough to make you to act with sufficient will or effort. You need to take action to achieve a goal. Laziness, comfort or letting yourself get carried away with situations that surround you are your enemies here.
How can you educate and strengthen the will?
When your normal course of action is putting off starting a task, you tend to always start with the easiest thing rather than the most important, you usually wait to have enough energy, or you abandon it altogether, using common excuses or blaming it on others, you could say that your willpower needs a ‘push’.
The will needs to be shaped and educated. It develops and becomes stronger as a resulto f training and concrete experiences gathered throughout life. To educate the will you need to go through a slow and steady learning process, in which you continually overcome obstacles until you achieve your set goals.
Steps to successfully achieving your objectives | ||
| 1. Establish priorities out of all your aims. 2. Be motivated for to achieve this aims, which will, without doubt, help you to make more effort and give you more willpower to achieve them. 3. Focus on one aim at a time, rather than multiple ones all at once. 4. Practice order and consistency, necessary for cultivating willpower. 5. Create good habits, which helps you to avoid the danger of falling into traps and acting on whims. 6. Avoid temptation, don’t expose yourself frequently to the things that distance you from your goals. It’s difficult to maintain a level of self-control without burning out. 7. Plan and decide what to do in situations of weakness that will distance you from your goals. 8. Maintain and reinforcement your excitment about your goals. | ||
