Building and improving willpower is not like a week-long class that you can just attend and get over with – it is a lifetime activity. If you find yourself doing things that are bad for you despite knowing that they could do you harm (in a big or small way), you need to improve your willpower.
The following are 5 ways in which you can improve your willpower.
- Eat a Lean Meat Sandwich – Research shows that every time you exercise your willpower – do your chores before watching TV, clean the house before taking a nap, and anything else – your brain and body use up a bit of their glucose reserves. To help ensure that your glucose levels stay stable, make it a habit of treating yourself to a healthy option, like a lean meat sandwich such as turkey made from whole wheat bread.
- Prepare for the Worst – When you plan something, make sure you have also listed out the things that could stop you from following that plan. It is always prudent to be prepared for roadblocks that could crop up on the way. Plan in advance and prepare for the worst to ensure success. A fallback option could give you more scope to finish the job.
- Start With Tiny Changes – Willpower can be like a muscle – and every tiny change you make can improve your strength of mind. If you want to improve your willpower to resist smoking or drinking for example, it helps to start off with baby steps. For example rather than completely cutting out drinking, try to have one alcohol free day a week. These little exercises of willpower can be gradually increased and will make the bigger things easier to achieve.
- Bribe Yourself – When you plan to perform a job that you don’t like, such as exercising, cleaning the house, doing the dishes, et al, make sure that you set a reward for yourself for finishing it. If you know that working out would mean having a strawberry smoothie or shopping for a friend’s wedding, you would be less inclined to put it off.
- Give Yourself a Break – Building willpower is not an easy task and you should know that there will be times when you fail. Don’t beat yourself up about it but try to analyse where you went wrong, promise yourself that you will try to avoid the mistakes you made this time and move on.
If you fail, try again and keep trying. Have patience and you will definitely see some improvement.
