Four Ways To Increase Willpower

There are times when a challenge seems bigger than it actually is. This leads to negative thoughts and we give up even before we take up the challenge. However, there are ways to increase willpower. 

Anxiety is natural and there is no way to get rid of it, but something can be done about it. That ‘something’ is keeping your nerves in check. This is not an easy task. However, it is not impossible.

How can you strengthen your willpower?

Those are the times when willpower, also known as self-discipline, becomes very important. Below we describe some steps you need to take to strengthen your willpower and mindset.

1. Think and act

“Control is power.”  This quote is from the award-winning film Schindler’s List, directed by Steven Spielberg. It explains best what we described above.

We need willpower to achieve what seems impossible.

It’s not just about convincing ourselves, it’s about doing it. There is a big gap between the capacity to decide and to implement. It is very difficult to achieve what we want to do if one has no relation to the other.

2. Never Stop Believing

Willpower is not synonymous with stubbornness. Nor is it about moving forward without a plan to complete a task, nor about repeating our mistakes.

It is normal for people to act in the hope of getting a reward in the near future. But what will really satisfy us in the long run is trading to get ahead and eventually hit the ultimate jackpot.

In other words, you can choose between competing in the 100-meter race or the marathon.

To have willpower is to accept our mistakes. Perhaps the hardest thing of all is to put aside the very thoughts that threaten our humanity. It’s about overcoming hopelessness and realizing that we are so much stronger than we think.

Tools that help create and sustain willpower include:

• set goals
• make adjustments on the go
• take advantage of opportunities that arise
• use alternatives

Moving forward without looking back, not losing focus and being disciplined are essential to achieving success.

3. Sport is one of the best examples

There are many examples of willpower to be found. You just have to pay attention. Family circumstances or personal situations where loved ones are going through hard times and coming out of it serve as self-help.

There are world famous divn all over the world that are good examples of willpower. Top athletes are part of that.

Argentine footballer Lionel Messi, for example, can boast of having willpower.

We know how talented he is, but we also know what it took to get noticed. This despite his limited height in a sport with physical contact. Today no one doubts him and his achievements.

He has a natural talent that he has managed to develop better than his competitors.

He overcame his growth problems because of his desire for success, as well as his desire to win and to be strong. Finding and tackling the problem is the most important.

4. Patience, a divine ally

Many people give up when they fail the first time. This is a common but regrettable mistake. People feel lost because they don’t have the confidence to keep fighting for what they want.

The goal doesn’t even have to be something very demanding.

Take, for example, going on a diet. Not eating sweets and drinking drinks that are not healthy for us is difficult, but not impossible.

This is where self-control comes in. Being tempted to do something that breaks the normal pattern is normal, but here’s where your thoughts become most important.

Ultimately, you set a precedent when you reach your goal after tackling all the problems you encounter. This is how people learn and understand that what they have experienced before no longer reflects how difficult it all seemed in the beginning.

That’s when you know that all your blood, sweat and tears were worth it. That is when you feel an indescribable satisfaction, when you understand that willpower was the ally that allowed you to achieve your goal.