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If you want to develop new habits that will make you happier and bring greater success into your life, you’ve got to have the willpower of a winner. If you want to develop new habits that will make you happier and bring greater success into your life, you’ve got to have the willpower of a winner.
The problem with willpower is that your weaknesses can sometimes overcome it and make you do things to sabotage the formations of new and lasting habits for success. Dieting is the most common example of willpower letting you down. You can rationalize in your mind that just ONE piece of cake won’t make you gain weight, or that you’re on vacation, you deserve that piece of Key Lime Pie.
To make lasting and successful habits, you need to develop the willpower to be able to withstand those temptations and help you quit rationalizing that something is okay when it clearly isn’t. Hard work and planning are the two major elements that will build strong willpower.
Willpower isn’t built by simply saying you’ll never do something again or that you’re going to succeed at something. When you see a person with an awesome amount of willpower who has become successful, know that there was the hard work and intimidating obstacles that he had to overcome before he became who he is now.
Building your willpower that will take you to success means that you first have to identify the reward you’ll get by having an abundance of willpower. Will you be fit and trim because you had the willpower to eat healthy and exercise? Or do you want your willpower to help you work hard and realize success in your business.
After you’ve identified the end goal you’ll accomplish by using willpower, you’ve got to make a plan. A plan is the map that will take you where you want to go and consists of several minor goals in between the starting point and the finish line.
What are the obstacles you’ll likely encounter when attempting to use your willpower? Those obstacles also need to be identified and you need to plan how you’re going to use your willpower to overcome them.
For example, if you’re planning to build an online business while keeping your day job, you’ll have to resist the urge to plop down on the sofa after work and watch television. Your home office must take priority for awhile over any indulgences you might long for until your business has reached the success you planned.
That’s using your willpower to get what you want and to create new habits that will take you to the success you desire. It may seem like it’s taking forever and taxing every ounce of willpower you have, but eventually you will have created a new ‘habit’ of success and everyone will envy you for your awesome willpower.
