The Greatest Human Strength – (Willpower)

Will is the power of conscious action or choice. Power is the ability to act; strength; control.

Willpower is the will or strength to act; it is the strength to refrain from acting, in pursuit of a goal; it is strength to hold back from doing or saying something you could do or say; it is the strength of will to carry out one’s decisions, wishes or plans.

"Nothing can withstand the power of the human will if it is willing to stake its very own existence to the extent of its purpose." Benjamin Disreali

One good way to exercise your willpower is to do something because you have a reason to do it, not because you feel like doing it. “You don’t have to feel like it before you do something; you just need to have a reason to do that thing.”

“I can’t” often means “I won’t”, even when you change “I won’t” to “I will” it is not enough because “I will” is not willpower but going ahead to do what you will is willpower.

When we consider willpower, one thing that comes to mind is the strength of will or the strength of willpower.

The strength of willpower is a measure of how often we exercise our willpower, how often we exercise the will to do or not to do something. Your willpower is like a muscle: exercising it can strengthen it.  Anyone that exercises his/her willpower often has a strong willpower.

You can build or develop willpower in several ways. One of such ways is by disciplining yourself to concentrate on a job or assignment until it is finished. It gives you an experience of self-control, and makes you feel in charge of your own destiny.

Self-discipline is the ability to make yourself do things you know you should do even when you don’t want to. It is self-control and self-control is an exercise of willpower. You exercise self-control over your feelings by not responding to them for the right reasons, e.g. we can decide not to act out of anger when we are angry. Self-control can be exercised over thoughts and feelings; you can choose to think about something positive in order to eliminate a negative thought, you can choose to ignore the way you feel or not to act in response to a feeling.  You can exercise self-control over your actions by choosing to do what is right even when people want you to do otherwise to please them or even when you feel like doing the wrong thing.

Another way of building or developing willpower is building self-confidence. Self-confidence is confidence in yourself and your own abilities. It is feeling that you can trust yourself and your own judgment. It is self- worth i.e. belief in self. It is self-respect i.e. belief in your own worth, dignity and integrity. It is not self-pity or self-doubt. Self –confidence makes self-expression easy even if you don’t know how to, it gives you the opportunity to try. Self-confidence gives rise to self-motivation i.e. not needing motivation by others and being able to make plans and get things done without being directed by others. Self-confidence makes it easy to exercise self-control. It builds and develops willpower.

"Willpower is essential to accomplishing anything worthwhile." Brian Tracy
 It is based on confidence, conviction, faith, belief in your ability to overcome obstacles.

By using willpower and repetition you can develop new habits of thinking and acting. Any thought or action that you repeat over and over will eventually become a new habit.

Willpower is the ability to try. It’s common sense to take a method and try it. If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all try something. This way you exercise willpower.

In our day to day events we may think we have no control over it, but the truth is you have much power than you may realize.

When you possess willpower you can do what you have decided to do; you can do what you know is right to do, whether you feel like it or not, whether it pleases you or not.

When you possess willpower you can tell your mind what to think and what to imagine and you can insist on acting in a certain way. Without willpower you just let passing thoughts and whims dictate to you what to do. By building willpower you gain the ability to control your imagination.

Willpower helps you keep your mind on your goal and hold it there without being sidetracked.

Do not allow the fear of making mistakes to hold you back from exercising your willpower. You are the only person who can use your ability.