Friday 26 April 2013

W is for Will Power (A-Z Challenge)

"Willing is not enough, we must do"
(Goethe)

This will be a very short post today, as work has been tough today and I need to get in the car and drive for four and a half hours. But where there's a will there's a way! Which brings me to my blog post for today....

Have you ever had a new year's resolution that you've not kept? Of course you have. What about a diet? Yes, I know what you mean. I've come to the conclusion that will power is not enough. Just willing it to happen hardly ever works. When it comes to dieting, for example, your body's urges and needs are far more powerful than any will power you can muster. Those urges are the result of millions of years of evolution and they don't give in easily - thankfully, or our very survival would have been at stake. So willing your way to success is not going to work.

In order to overcome this, it's important that you make whatever you want to achieve part of your lifestyle - make it the norm, gradually at first but moving towards the goal with incremental steps. If it's the gym you want to go to regularly, just turn up at first. Don't worry about the workout. Maybe just take a look at the new gym. Next time, just turn up and do 10 minutes. If it's eating healthier food you are interested in, start with changing breakfast only on one day in the week. Buy enough fruit (for example) for that single day's breakfast. Change that one thing, get used to it and build on it. What I'm saying is, start very simply and make it part of your lifestyle. This is not will power, it's just 'what you do'. This starts to build momentum and small incremental steps take very much less will power than trying to make big changes quickly. Trying to do things in a big way is tempting, but resist this temptation - it's counterproductive. As time passes, your brain will accept that this is normal for you and it will become much easier.

I wouldn't tell you this if I hadn't tried it and made sure it works first. Good luck!

1 comment:

  1. This is true. I start out, many times, big and just burst into something new (diet/exercise/hobby) only to eventually sputter out.

    And it isn't that I don't want to continue, because I really do, but motivation has always been an issue.

    Starting small and building a foundation is sound advice for most things in life. Building on it as time goes on. Diet and exercise will eventually be integrated and become habits. Just second nature.

    I've gotten to the point where even older food/drink I used to love became unsavory to me. That is a good sign, as it naturally stops you from relapsing as easily once hitting that point.

    I am starting the gym again, and just taking my time to build up how often I go and how much I do. Even thinking of making a blog documenting it. A health blog of sorts. Helps motivate knowing others are aware and can hold you accountable haha

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