The One Thing I didn't Realize about Willpower
"Odysseus understood how weak willpower actually is...." a quote that resonated with me right away as I started reading the chapter "Willpower is Always on Will-Call" of the book "The One Thing" by Gary Keller (with Jay Papasan) as part of the "One Thing Challenge".
As promised, I was soon captured by the writing and started making notes on the side of the printed pages. Reading the chapter I started making comparisons and analogies to my own behaviors as it pertains to willpower.
For example, I have a big sweet tooth and admittedly, no willpower when it comes to chocolates or sweets. To protect myself from indulging too much, I just don't buy it so I don't have to keep it in the house. When I do buy it however, I try to put it away where it's harder to access... well, trust me, it doesn't work... after all, I know where I put it and how to get to it. Funny thing, I don't have that problem with green beans! I could really relate to the turmoil and discomfort those four-year olds underwent who participated in the experiment back in the 70s. But you can read about that yourself in the book.
Stress kills willpower. Going back to this example, I knew that I typically don't have an issue to resist early in the day, usually the resistance wanes as the day nears the end or if it had been a particular hectic or stressful day. I knew that but I didn't know why. Stress, too many things going on at the same time, all of these result in less willpower of making healthy personal choices. It's as if the mind pushes away willpower to make room for other things - seemingly more important - in our heads.
Continuing in my reading, this became clearer to me and I realized that willpower is not an unlimited resource. We use it up as time goes on making time and willpower a dynamic duo that we need to be aware of.
Timing is key. Willpower is tied to time. As willpower is strongest early in the day, we would be most successful in accomplishing goals or avoiding pitfalls during this time of the day. Another concept that ties into time is the willpower default. The more tired we get, the least willpower we have purposely. The book explains that we fall into willpower default mode, a sort of auto-mode taking up the least amount of energy, and of course, it is the mode of least resistance as well!
We need to be conscientious about our willpower. Willpower cannot be left on auto-pilot. Recognizing that it diminishes with time, stress level, and our own brain's efforts to conserve energy, gives us the opportunity to plan when to make those important decisions or complete those tasks that have priority.
Doing the most important tasks first thing in the morning when willpower is at its strongest and leaving less important tasks for later when less willpower is needed to complete them will help us in succeeding of what matters most. The saying "eat your biggest frog first" really does apply!
As for my part, I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the book!
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