Have you always wanted to change certain parts of your life for the better? A few years back, I found myself with the same desire. And while I had the desire, what I found I lacked was the motivation and willpower to actually create the much-needed change. Fortunately, over the years I found out that willpower is like a muscle - you can actually build it up and increase it to the point that you can take the steps needed towards creating the change you desire in your life. Today I am sharing with you the 5 best mini habits I set, that helped me to enhance my willpower:
You Can Do Anything At Once, But Not Everything At Once
Over the years, I often had one of those amazing days - you wake up, filled with energy, and suddenly you have the motivation to do all the things you were slacking on for months, or possibly for years. Regardless, I woke up with my mindset on achieving the impossible and breaking the pattern. I’d push myself to do as much as I could, and I still didn’t do everything I had in mind. Exhausted, and with depleted willpower, I’d continue my old ways, locked in the same cycle of procrastination, then a day filled with motivation when I’d deplete all my energy resources, and on and on it went without any real progress.
I really wish that I understood earlier that willpower, and the energy you have disposable in a day, is a resource, much like putting gas in your car. You can fill up the gas tank to the max, but that still won’t get you to the other side of the continent in one day, or without refills, right?
Similarly, willpower and your energy are resources that you should be mindful of how you use. Smaller, achievable milestones and goals on which you work daily are the way towards achieving them!
Remember, you can do anything at once, but not everything at once. And to that point, one of the most important habits I developed is to remind myself daily of just that, both mentally and physically - I put the reminder as a background in my phone, I wrote it on a post-it and placed it on my working desk, and I also put one on my bathroom mirror. Mindset is everything when it comes to progress!
Manage Your Temptations
No matter which goal you have set for yourself - temptation will be behind the corner, it’s simply inevitable. For example, if you have set a goal for yourself to eat healthier, and you throw all the unhealthy food from your home, that’s a great start. However, what about tomorrow when you walk by a fast food truck on your way to work, and you simply can’t help yourself but indulge in an unhealthy meal?
Removing temptation in your closest vicinity is a great start for building willpower, but it’s not a solution. What I learned over time while trying to enhance my will is that I can manage my tasks & habits, but I can also manage the temptations that I am aware of.
Whenever you set a goal, a new habit, and you’ve turned a clean slate - also think about the following question: “What can keep me from achieving my goal?”. Now, the point of this exercise is not to bring yourself down before you even start, but simply to gain awareness of the temptations that might make it difficult for you to enhance your willpower and endurance.
I suggest that you make a list of the top three temptations or slip-ups that might happen, or that you have struggled with the most in the past, and try to find how to avoid them, or how to resist them. For example, whenever I have to go into deep work, I keep my phone away from my working desk. By removing the temptation of picking up my phone with million little distractions on it, I am ensuring that I will remain productive and motivated in my work.
I suggest you make it a habit to try and predict some possible temptations, but also to list down temptations you encountered, but didn’t predict weekly. By doing so, you will become more aware of what to look out for so that you can fully utilize your willpower.
Meditate Daily
One of the biggest issues I faced when I was trying to enhance my willpower, was definitely my lack of focus and autopilot mode. I would be fully committed to my goal, filled with motivation, and the will to really create the change I needed desperately in my life, only to later reflect on the day and notice that a lot of the times I have slipped up unconsciously. Whether I lost focus and said ‘yes’ when in reality the answer would probably be ‘no’, or I’d disassociate and turn autopilot mode on and simply engage in activities that do not support my goal in mind by habit - I was slipping up.
Thankfully, meditation was one of the best habits I adopted during this period, which truly gave me insights, and helped me become more mindful and present. That allowed me to use my willpower as I intended, not as I was used to through my old habits.
Work With Crystals To Enhance Willpower
Speaking of meditating, one of the best ways to enhance your meditations is through using healing crystals during your meditations.
Crystal healing has truly been one of the biggest blessings in my life. Whether I needed healing or enhancing willpower and motivation there was always a crystal to help me do just that. For enhancing willpower I highly recommend wearing a bit of White Agate or Tiger’s Eye. While meditating with these crystals daily is an amazing practice, but to truly enhance your intentions and willpower, wearing them every day as well is an even better way to achieve your goals.
If you feel like you need fierce, strong, creative energy to help you revitalize yourself for pushing forward, then I wholeheartedly recommend wearing a Motivation Tiger Eye Wrap Bracelet. Tiger Eye is the main stone of strength, that enhances determination, and harnesses direct connection with your Solar Plexus chakra - your center of inner will and power.
If you are looking for a gentler crystal, one that enhances inner understanding, clarity and emotional balance to helps you to increase your inner will supply, then White Agate is a beautiful crystal to work with. I wholeheartedly recommend wearing an Empower White Agate Natural Wrap Bracelet. White Agate brings balance to emotions and offers courage and endurance to the body, mind, and spirit.
Keep An Objective Mind Through A Reflection Journal
One of the biggest issues I faced when I was trying to enhance my willpower was that after a while, I would inevitably slip up. I’d meditate for two weeks straight, not missing a single day, and then the inevitable would happen - I’d miss a day. Whether I was too busy, an emergency happened, or I simply wasn’t up to it - I’d miss the day. However, missing the day wasn’t the issue in itself, in fact, it’s natural to make an exception to your routine once in a while. My attitude and inner judge were the biggest problems.
Whenever I’d slip up, instead of offering understanding and kindness towards myself, I would do the opposite. I’d already feel guilty, and on top of that, I’d allow my inner judge to take the stage and shame me, to a point where I’d emotionally beat myself up. I’d to this to such lengths that, eventually all my energy was wasted, my already shaken faith in myself was non-existent, and I’d lose all the will to push forward and continue my habit. I’d often think: “What is the point of starting all over again if I already slipped up? I failed once, I’ll fail again.”
I sometimes wish I can go back in time, and tell my silly self that I haven’t failed anything at all. I simply idealized willpower and myself as a woman of steel, that never slips up, never flinches in the face of any circumstances - the woman that keeps her routine even when life is the hardest. And it’s a nice fantasy, but a very unrealistic one. Willpower is finding the inner strength to continue your routines and new habits, no matter how many times you slipped up, or how many times you took the wrong turn on your way.
Even today, when I’ve done all the work, and engaged in inner healing, and push on to create a better life for myself - I slip up on my routine. And that is okay. Where I once would have engaged in self-shaming, today I engage in understanding why the slip-up happened, and whether I can find a workaround to keeping my routine even on the busiest days. If I find one, that’s great, however, even if I don’t, that awareness that some days slip-ups can and will happen because such is life is consolation, and an inspiration to rest, and tackle the next day fully recharged.
My advice to you is to not indulge yourself in finding excuses for yourself or to judge and shame yourself into discipline because that does more harm than good. Instead, accept that life is uncertain, and some days you will slip up. And when you do, keep an objective mind and find understanding for yourself.
A great way to enhance keeping an objective mind is to start leading a Reflection Journal. Reflecting every evening on your thought patterns that harm your willpower, and gaining the inner understanding you need to become more supportive of the thoughts that fuel your willpower is an amazing way to enhance your willpower.
