How to develop and strengthen willpower?

The power is there - the mind is not needed. But what if the mind is there, but the strength is not enough? And not in the direct sense of the word, but willpower. And without it, we can’t bring ourselves to do what we should. Let's take a closer look at how to develop and strengthen willpower.

In fact, willpower is our guide to achieving goals. They wanted to lose weight, and willpower will help to give up sweets, and instead of spending time in social networks, it is she who will help to go to the gym. We decided to quit smoking, it's as easy as shelling pears. Mark Twain, for example, claimed that he himself had done this a hundred times. How about one single time? Again, lack of willpower?

Do you remember the report that you barely managed to submit last year? And if you had willpower, you would have started earlier. And what about the tooth that was removed last year? It could have been saved if you had shown your willpower on time and went to the dentist as soon as you felt the first pain. The list is endless. But, unfortunately, our “want” or “don’t want” often overcome our own willpower. So what do you do about it? The conclusion is obvious - to strengthen it.

It is argued that willpower is a kind of invisible muscle that, like the rest of our muscles, needs to be trained and strengthened. It is necessary to develop an algorithm in which our willpower could always prevail over our laziness, fears, temptations. She needs to be brought up in herself, preferably from childhood. But if this moment of your development was missed earlier, you can start now. The main thing is discipline and attitude. Further - a matter of technology. So, let's start performing a set of exercises to develop willpower.

Do not think that by developing willpower you have to give up pleasure.... Just correctly divide the concepts into "want" and "must". Be above instinct. No, no one is urging you to give up food for the whole day or stop seeing your girlfriend. But first, think about higher matters. After all, only a job well done will allow you to enjoy life, eat delicious food and have fun with your beloved. Having a decent salary will provide you with a quality level of existence.

You can create a reward system... Were you able to cope with a difficult task? Took strength into a fist? In the evening, go to dinner at your favorite cafe, free yourself from cooking at home. This will be the reward. Have you missed a workout for a month? Buy yourself a chocolate bar. Just eat it in the morning better. Don't smoke for a month? This is an excuse to go to the movies with friends. By the way, smoking is prohibited there.

Learning how to plan time is a direct path to excellence. Don't just start making a plan for the day in your head, but do it in writing. If you don't want to write, create a special file - a plan on your computer. This way, you will not only become more self-organized, but also easier to distribute the load. Distribute tasks according to the degree of need to complete them. To do this, use one of the most effective ways. Divide them into four parts such as:

• important and urgent;
• urgent and unimportant;
• unimportant, but urgent;
• not urgent and unimportant.

Do you already know where to start tomorrow? By the way, it is better to plan it on the eve of the evening. In the morning you should already be in full combat readiness, you do not have time to decide what is important and what is urgent, and what is generally unworthy of attention.

Make up your own daily routine that suits you and strictly observe it. Everyone knows that people are divided into "owls" and "larks." If it's easier for you to live in the morning, do all the hard work in the first hours. Look at the mail at the end of the day and energy. If in the morning you feel unwell for a long time, sluggish, then you should start with the post office. Start more important business closer to dinner, when you have the strength.

In addition, each of us has a moment when we are not capable of anything. Don't rip off the veins of your willpower. Allow yourself minutes of "doing nothing", do not confuse them with a fit of laziness. Take breaks from work.

Habit is, as you know, second nature. So let's make it at least close to perfect. How many times do you press the alarm button in the morning. Just two? Fine. Imagine if a daily morning jog or dousing with cold water appears on the schedule of the day! You yourself will not notice how it will become a habit. And then you will get up a few minutes before the alarm goes off.

It's like walking the dog in the morning. Try making her wait an hour or two while you bask in bed. Will not work. General cleaning in the corridor is provided to you. Change bad habits for good ones. Willpower will gratefully respond to your transformation. Take the following as an example:

• replace daily communication on social networks with reading fiction;
• take a cold shower every morning;
• visit a massage parlor at least once every two weeks;
• every day, an hour before bedtime, turn off all sources of information: phone, tablet, computer, TV;
• Eat porridge for breakfast every day.

Willpower is always within us, therefore experts advise more often to turn to your inner self. This will teach you concentration, develop the ability to self-control, teach you to abstract. You yourself will not notice how you will stop "losing your temper" with or without reason. Calm down, and may willpower be with you.

So, sit comfortably. The back is straight. The legs do not have to be crossed. Practice sitting in a chair. The main thing is that you feel comfortable. Close your eyes. But first, turn off everything that can distract - the phone, the sound on the computer, the TV. Start doing deep breaths in and out. At the same time, accompany them with the words, as at a doctor's appointment, "inhale-exhale", in this case you are your own doctor. After a while, let your breath go freely, that is, remove the soundtrack.

All unnecessary thoughts should leave you alone. And they will do it, believe me. If suddenly some crazy person still flies into the head, tell her "Shoot", for this, start repeating the therapeutic "inhale-exhale" again. Start doing this for 5 minutes a day. Then gradually "stretch the pleasure" up to 10, and then up to 15 minutes. This will also become a good habit. We open our eyes.

Perhaps the most famous method of self-hypnosis was told when they released the picture “I am the most charming and attractive” on the screen. The heroine of Irina Muravyova, repeating this phrase, turned from an ugly duckling into a wonderful swan. The method of self-hypnosis or auto-training is good because, unlike meditation, it does not require special conditions to be fulfilled. You can do it on the way to work, in the store, while cleaning, in line at the clinic - anywhere. And it takes a little time. However, experts recommend allocating 10-15 minutes for it every day.

Another rule says that in the statements that you will instill in yourself, there should be no denial, that is, we remove the particle "not" from our vocabulary for the duration of a conversation with ourselves. Also, try not to use words like "eradicate" or "get rid". But the following phrases below are fine:

• I see the goal and will definitely come to it;
• my path will be traversed by me to the end ("I will not turn off the path" will not work);
• I will be strong in will and spirit;
• I will reach the designated peaks;
• day by day I am getting stronger.

Remember that we are what we eat. As soon as your body weight begins to exceed the permissible, you literally do not enter into any framework, the brain independently begins the reverse process, begins to decrease, as it were. Of course, he does not dry out in a literal sense, it just starts to think more slowly. The memory will start to fail. It’s not up to willpower. The same process leads to lack of vitamins.

We have already learned that willpower is like a muscle. So give her a load. You don't have to immediately run to the gym. Although this is only welcome. DTo get started, just try to move more, such as walking. There is no need to occupy the parking space closest to the entrance to the office. Leave the car in the neighboring yard and walk to your favorite work, at the same time get some fresh air.

Traveling by public transport? Do you know why you are so often sleepy in it? From lack of movement. Get off at the bus stop earlier than usual. At least sometimes pass the elevator. Climb to the desired floor on foot. Ideally, the number of steps per day should be about ten thousand. Don't count them. Almost every smartphone is now equipped with pedometers. There are also special bracelets.

Since the problem of developing willpower and self-control is quite common, it is not surprising that those involved in high technology turned their attention to it. Specialists have developed numerous services that help a person take care of themselves. Of course, they will not take you to the hairdresser, but they will be able to remind you that you must do this. We have already talked about pedometers earlier. There are other programs that allow you to track what you are spending your time on. For example, time-tracker RescueTime will track what you are doing at your computer using a laptop or phone, and then give you the analyzed information.

Some then delete games from their devices. It only seems that we are not distracted by them for long. And social networks are not at all as harmless for our precious time as they seem. Or maybe you spent too much time when you looked at the match of your favorite team with one eye? The program will calculate everything. There are other applications that will help you figure out why at the end of the working day you realize that "again, nothing has been done." And also with the help of modern technology, you can check the quality of your sleep, measure your level of physical activity, and so on.

The main enemy of our willpower is laziness. She jumps out at times like the devil from a snuffbox. What activates it? Don't be afraid to face your enemy. This will make it easier to deal with. Answer yourself, what has awakened laziness in you, so able-bodied? The reasons may vary.

• You are afraid that you will not be able to complete the task at hand. The solution is to ask your colleagues for help. Understand how you yourself can make it easier for yourself. Finally, give up this job in favor of another.
• You will not get any pleasure from this work. Solution - find an incentive to fulfill it (a bonus, gratitude from the authorities, the opportunity to take a vacation).
• Basically, you don't like what you do. The solution is to change your occupation.
• It is physically difficult for you to complete the task at hand. The solution is to find an assistant, try to find some special devices to make your work easier. Divide the case into several parts. Refuse to do it in favor of another if other methods are unacceptable.
• You don't know where to start. Solution - look at the issue from all angles. Start with the most difficult, leave the less tedious and complicated procedures for “sweet”, present them to yourself as dessert at dinner.
• You have set yourself an impossible task... The solution is to lower the bar. Instead of declaring to yourself that you need to lose 20 kilograms, tell yourself that losing an extra couple will be enough to start. So the goal will become more achievable, and the result can be immediately written down in the diary of your achievements.
• You don't like working conditions. The solution is to switch places with a colleague for at least one day. Maybe you lack sunlight, then open the blinds. But first, try to clean up your desk. Remove from it all unnecessary and distracting from the work. A cell phone is desirable too.
• You are too cold / hot / rainy / sad... Solution - close / open the window. Start wearing different clothes. If everything hurts and nothing helps, see the next point.
• You're tired... The solution is to observe the work and rest regimen. On weekends, spend time doing household chores, with children, friends, alone with yourself. Forget working on weekends - that's the law. If possible, spend your vacation away from home and work.

Here are some tips to help you not only develop willpower, but also, in principle, to feel one hundred percent.

• Water procedures. It is believed that a person should drink one and a half to two liters of water per day. That's about eight glasses. More is possible, less is impossible. It is water (coffee, tea, cola, grandma's compote are not considered) that normalizes the work of our body, gives strength to our brain, helps to cope with excess weight. You will also receive a bonus in the form of beautiful and healthy skin.
• Rejoice. A positive-minded person will always do his job faster and better than someone who came in a bad mood. Stress can turn off the self-control function altogether. But, unfortunately, it is inevitable. Fortunately, you can cope with it. Relaxation is what will help you. This does not mean a glass or other red at dinner and not watching a talk show. You need to be able to relax.

To do this, complete the following exercise. Lie on your back. It is better to keep your legs slightly raised. Place a pillow under them. I do not like this position, take any convenient for you, even the pose of a frog. Close your eyes and start breathing deeply. We recall the "inhale-exhale" meditation technique. 10-15 minutes in this state will help you get rid of negative thoughts much better than wine, in general it can only aggravate an already unimportant state. Practicing on a daily basis while lying down will help you tune in to the right wave. And it will save you from insomnia. This is just as important as getting rid of stress.

• All sleep. Sleep should be at least eight hours long. This is exactly how much our brain needs to fully rest. If you think that if it was sheer willpower that allowed you to watch the TV series or "cut into tanks" until three in the morning, you are mistaken. This made her absence. In the morning you will not be capable of anything intelligible.