Willpower

Albert Einstein already said that “there is a driving force more powerful than steam, electricity and atomic energy: the will.” This attribute is one of the most defining of our species.

The willpower It is a capacity that we can learn and develop. It’s like a muscle, it can be trained. Just as physical and mental preparation is essential for athletes, preparing to achieve our goals will also be a fundamental task for us.

How to define will?

Etymologically, the word willpower It comes from the Latin voluntas-atis, which means “to want.” But this concept implies many other factors:

The ability to make decisionschoosing one possibility among several.The trend or desire for something that allows us the opportunity to discover.the determination that specifies and is related to the ability to evaluate and clarify our goals.The actionas a definitive factor for the implementation of what we want.

When the will has acquired strength and vigor, it helps us in the effort to achieve our desires and ideals, constituting that driving force so necessary. that pushes us to walk forward despite the difficulties. It has two irreplaceable ingredients, as psychiatrist Enrique Rojas points out: motivation and the delusion.

The will determines us

Everything begins with a desire, but to realize it it is not enough to long for it, but that desire has to be transformed into something we want, that is, something guided by our will and motivation. Willpower, At first, it is chooseand when we choose we also give up, even when we don’t we are making a choice.

Choosing, in the case of will, is bet on something that excites us that is in the distance and that we will reach with a dose of effort and patience. Our goal being the stimulus for action, especially in the most complicated moments. But, really, what is dragging us is our motivation.

Sometimes, we can see the goal as positive but the process to get to this point difficult and expensive. How to encourage our willpower here?

The first thing is to know if it is something we really want to achieve. When we get the answer, if it is affirmative, we will have to know how to make our demand attractive, not losing sight of our horizon. Every effort, in one way or another, generates a reward, since Only those who know how to wait have the ability to use their will without rushing to reap immediate fruits, dedicating themselves with ardor to the achievement of their goal.

Educate the will

We have already mentioned it before, the will is like a muscle that can be trained. But how to do it? To do this we must have some clear questions.

The importance of persistence

The will uses a gradual and progressive learning, through the repetition of actions in which we sometimes find ourselves defeated, we fight and fall, but where we have enough strength to get back up. It is as if we were acquiring habits, requiring a lot of effort in the first moments.

One of the fundamental things is to be clear that the benefits, in most cases, will not be obtained immediately. In fact, we are walking on a long-term path in which the freedom to make decisions constitutes one of the crucial factors at the core of the will, since This begins our path towards the realization of our personal project.

Where does what motivates you come from?

Motivation must be our main driving force, as it will generate the necessary force towards the contents that move it. And to do this, we have to know what we want to prepare the will towards the fight, having our objectives clear and well defined. Likewise, remember that we must give up everything that distracts us.

We must keep in mind that we are cultivating what will be our fruits in the future. Our will will be that seed that we have planted and that will grow, if we work for it, bearing fruit as our personal struggle does not give up, insisting again and again on its care and growth. Thus, we will govern ourselves more by developing our capacity for will, through perseverance.

The look at the goal

Balancing the instruments in proportion to the proposed objectives is also an important taskseeking harmony between ends and means, knowing our strengths and weaknesses, developing strategies for this and achieving a good proportion between our abilities and limitations.

And let’s not forget that the education process has no end, because life continually surprises us with unexpected situations that force us to reorganize the skeleton of our personal trajectory. That is why the will, specifically its education, is something continuous.

Am I really chasing my dreams?

Finally, if at any time we feel that we do not have willpower, we can ask ourselves why we think this is due. Are you doing something you really want? Do you think it’s worth the effort? Do you think you will be able to achieve it? Because? Question yourself!

Remember the importance of setting clear, realistic objectives and, above all, that truly motivate you. and become a goal you want to reach. Also, ask yourself if perhaps you are setting goals that are too ambitious or if perhaps it is necessary to break them down into smaller goals that are more achievable and also become a source of motivation.

With these questions we can get to the core of our lack of will and discover what the real cause is hidden behind it. Since often, our thinking style and beliefs tend to limit us in achieving our goals if we do not remain alert.

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