Training Your Brain To Be Calm, Confident And Resilient
<article class="post-975 post type-post status-publish format-standard category-blog entry" aria-label="Why Willpower Is Not Enough"><header class="entry-header"><h1 class="entry-title">Why Willpower Is Not Enough</h1>
<p class="entry-meta"><time class="entry-time">28th November 2019</time> by <span class="entry-author"><a href="https://johnnolan.uk/author/coachjohn/" class="entry-author-link" rel="author"><span class="entry-author-name">John Nolan</span></a></span> </p></header><div class="entry-content">
<p>Consider this very familiar scenario:
someone makes a decision to start the New Year by putting a new healthy habit
in place. A few weeks later, and it’s been forgotten. Perhaps you are one of
those rare people that simply follows through with everything that they commit
to?</p><p>So what goes wrong? Generally, when people decide
to change their existing habits for ones that are healthier or better for them,
it’s highly likely that they’ll be expecting to do it using willpower.</p><p>The trouble is, willpower doesn’t work like that. When we examine it closely <strong>willpower has more to do with your ability to make decisions</strong>, and in particular those decisions to not do the familiar but to do something different instead. So although you want to go out for a jog after work, still the familiar sofa, beer and TV call you. You have to <span style="text-decoration: underline;">decide</span> to do something different, instead of going down the familiar route.</p><p>However, our capacity to make those decisions
quickly evaporates through the day.</p><p>I once worked with a couple who were committed
to each other and to their relationship. They were clearly in love with each
other, and yet their evenings were spent having arguments. Both had highly-involved
jobs with significant levels of responsibility that they were dedicated to
doing to the best of their ability. What I saw happening was that by the time
they got home in the evening they had already made all the decisions their
brains could take for that day! So when the urge to say something stupid came
up, instead of deciding not to say it, they no longer had the mental capacity
to override the impulse.</p><h2><strong>How
to get past the willpower problem</strong></h2><p>The strategy to avoid reliance on willpower
alone is simple. If you want to develop a new habit, attach it to an existing
one. This makes it far more likely to happen.</p><p>Here’s a very simple example. Say you <strong>make the decision to meditate for ten minutes every day</strong>. Instead of relying on your willpower to find the space to do it, to make yourself sit and stay focused for that time, how about attaching it to something you already do?</p><p>What about that morning cup of coffee when
you’re still walking around half-asleep, and you put the radio on for
background noise? Here’s an alternative. Decide the day before where you can
sit to meditate, decide how you are going to time it, and make sure that whatever
you need is nearby. Now when you get your coffee, still walking around like a
zombie, go to the space you’ve created. Sit down and meditate for 10 minutes; I
promise your cup of coffee will still be warm enough to drink afterwards!</p><p>This does not guarantee it’s going to happen, but by removing as many burdens as possible, you reduce the number of decisions you need to make, and so <strong>improve the chances of your new habit taking root</strong>.</p><div id='jp-relatedposts' class='jp-relatedposts' >
<h3 class="jp-relatedposts-headline"><em>Related</em></h3>
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