Even the most powerful willpower may not be enough to achieve certain goals. Imagine you have a cool car in your garage. But it will not budge if there is no gasoline in the tank. It's the same with willpower. If it is over, then the dream will not be realized either. Therefore, the question of how to save willpower is no less important than the question of how to strengthen it.
It is very important to use self-control wisely. Why run somewhere if you can easily walk without making any volitional efforts? Therefore, it is necessary to understand when it is possible to save volitional reserves so that they are enough to achieve important goals, to realize a dream.
Learn to share
Sometimes one glance at large volumes of work is enough to be disappointed in this life. This rule works not only in professional activities. For example, let's say you set a goal to lose 50 kg. But this can take several months, or even a whole year. Therefore, it is important to learn how to divide one large task into several subtasks.
For example, you might set a goal to lose 200 grams per week. Or read only one chapter per day, and not the whole book. In this situation, the goal no longer looks too ambitious and impracticable.
The more complicated the matter, the more volitional efforts have to be made. A lot of effort is spent simply on understanding the tasks that will have to be dealt with. The same task may look different not only for you, but also for your volitional reserves.
Get Smart about Habit Formation
Almost 40% of our daily activities are occupied by habits that are performed automatically. This is good because we do not have to seek help from willpower to, for example, brush our teeth.
But we also carry out negative habits automatically. For example, in the morning we put off the alarm clock several times in order to get 5 minutes more sleep.
Good habits help keep our willpower in good shape. For example, if your schedule always has room for a morning run, then getting up in the morning is much easier. You don't have to persuade yourself to wake up and go to the treadmill.
The formation of habits must be approached competently. For example, jogging has a beneficial effect on our health, energy reserves, and therefore on willpower. Therefore, you need to accustom yourself to this ritual. Naturally, the first few weeks will be tough. But then you will start to jog on the machine, without making any special volitional efforts.
But smoking and drinking alcohol is detrimental to our health and self-control. Therefore, it is worth giving up such bad habits. Habit building is hard work. But it's worth it.
Think about what actions help you achieve success. What you need to do so that the daily tasks do not bring a feeling of discomfort. Make a list and determine what activities you need to make your daily habit.
Stop reading and watch the news
To strengthen willpower, it is necessary to control the information that we consume. Our world is not perfect. Something bad happens every day. Many events are not able to bring even a shadow of a smile on our face. Therefore, it is worth protecting yourself from negative information, because it has a negative effect not only on our mood, but also on volitional reserves.
Even an ordinary vacation photo posted by a friend on Instagram can negatively affect willpower. Therefore, it is worth limiting the consumption of information that is in no way related to your activity.
An hour before bedtime, it is better to completely abandon news and scrolling through the feed on social networks. Otherwise, it will be difficult to fall asleep, which will negatively affect sleep and, accordingly, on our self-control.
As a conclusion
Our willpower can be affected by any action. Therefore, it is important to raise awareness. You need to take a responsible approach to your life, to what you do, what you watch and what you read.
Learn to control your own body, your own thoughts and emotions. Eat the right food, exercise, get enough sleep. Learn not only to work, but also to rest. Meditate daily. Try to do only what has a beneficial effect on your energy and volitional resources.
