6 Habits That Will Increase Your Willpower
Sometimes it seems that people are born with great willpower while others aren’t. Some people seem to chug right through their work and persist until their goals are achieved. The rest of us stare in wonder, amazed that these people can be so productive and have so much drive to succeed.
Luckily, the amount of willpower you can have is not fixed. It can fluctuate and, therefore, can be built up with practice and good habits. This article will go over six habits that will boost your willpower. After reading, if you still want more tips or advice about willpower, then head over to BetterHelp for more information.
Limit Your Decisions
You probably don’t realize it, but you are wasting precious energy and motivation by making decisions that aren’t important. Trivial decisions, such as what to wear or eat each day, may not seem like a big deal, but they can take away your mental energy. This leaves you less energy for bigger decisions or to stay motivated throughout the day.
This phenomenon is known as “ego depletion,” and it will decrease your willpower. You have a limited amount of willpower each day, and it will start to deplete with the first decision you make. If your first decisions are about your food or clothes, you are wasting precious willpower that could be put to better use.
This is why many leaders choose to wear the same outfit every day or eat the same meals. They don’t want to waste time or energy on something that doesn’t matter much. Instead, they reserve their willpower for more important issues.
Take Actions To Set You Up For Tomorrow
At the end of the day, your willpower will probably be drained. So this is the best time to make those pesky, trivial decisions and work on those small tasks.
Use this time to start a task that you can easily finish in the morning. Or set out your clothes for the day and decide what you will eat for breakfast. By having a plan in place, you can start your morning off strong and reserve your willpower for the bigger problems that come up later in the day.
Snack Often
At first, this may seem like bad advice, especially if you are trying to manage your weight. But your brain needs glucose to keep operating. You can’t increase your willpower if your brain is not properly fueled.
Therefore, it’s important to snack often. However, this doesn’t mean it’s okay to grab that bag of chips. Be mindful and choose healthy snacks such as nuts, fruit, vegetables, etc.
Put Up Reminders of Long-term Goals
The day-to-day grind can make it easy to forget your long-term goals. Without reminders, you will lose your motivation and willpower to keep working towards them.
Therefore, you will want to have some sort of reminder of what you are trying to achieve. For many people, this takes the form of a vision board, which is filled with pictures of the goal or life they are trying to create. For others, it can be a more simple reminder, such as a picture on their desk or a symbol that represents the goal.
Work on the Hardest Tasks First
When you start work for the day, work on the hardest tasks. You will have more willpower and energy in the morning than in the afternoon, so you will be better equipped to tackle these difficult tasks.
Many people make the mistake of focusing on the easiest tasks to ease into the day. However, by the time you reach the hardest tasks, you have spent all day working and are no longer motivated.
As mentioned throughout this article, you only have a limited supply of willpower, and it will most likely be gone by the late afternoon. So take care of your toughest tasks right away. You’ll do them better and feel rewarded for getting it out of the way.
Practice Mindfulness
Most decision-making is automatic. We often choose our food, clothes, thoughts, words, and other actions without thinking about them first.
This is a problem if you want to make better decisions that will help you towards your goals. To do this, you will need to cultivate mindfulness. Mindfulness requires you to be present to make decisions that are thought out. These decisions should help you towards your goals, so they will also increase your willpower.
For example, if you wish to lose weight, you should be mindful when deciding on what to eat. Instead of automatically grabbing a pint of ice cream for comfort, choose a healthier meal that will satisfy you and get you closer to that weight loss.
Author’s Bio
Marie Miguel has been a writing and research expert for nearly a decade, covering a variety of health- related topics. Currently, she is contributing to the expansion and growth of a free online mental health resource with BetterHelp.com. With an interest and dedication to addressing stigmas associated with mental health, she continues to specifically target subjects related to anxiety and depression.
This article has been published in accordance with Socialnomics’ disclosure policy.
