What is Willpower and how to increase it to become successful?
Every person in the world is determined to do something in their life. Out of them some are able to do big events where some stay as an extreme failure. Every person also wants to live happily after achieving great success.
Everyone does hard work, maintains a proper routine, follows up the chain but is still lacking behind the success. The main reason behind this is they do not have enough willpower to make anything happen that they are determined to do.
What is will power?
According to the most psychological scientists, willpower is defined as the one’s ability to control his own actions, emotions or urges.It is the strong determination that allows one to do something difficult.
Similarly, we have many synonyms to willpower like determination, self-strength, self-control, etc. However people relate willpower as self-control but several psychologists characterize both in more specific ways.It is the most effective thing to resist temptation in humans.
Which part of the brain control willpower?
The Prefrontal cortex, the brain right behind the forehead, which helps us in doing things like self-decisions or regulating self-behaviours. This part is recognized for controlling will power in human beings.
Marshmallow Test
Renowned psychologist in social psychology, Walter Mischel, the designer of the famous marshmallow test, where he explains how self-control can be mastered and applied to challenges in everyday life.
Marshmallow test was held at Stanford University in 1970. Marshmallow test will change the way you think about who we are and what we can be.
In this test, Mischel and his colleagues choose some pre-school kids where the researcher gave them one marshmallow. And ask them if they wait till the researcher comes again then they will be able to take two marshmallows.
Children with good self-control sacrifice the immediate pleasure of one marshmallow and prefer both after sometimes.
Marshmallow test led him to explain our ability to delay gratification. This test depicts us to set our long term goals rather than preferring the short term pleasures.
He also explains that when willpower fails a person prefers immediate pleasure but when will power success person will be able to delay gratification and prefer long term pleasure.
How to increase your willpower?
You can increase your ability to resist your behaviour and increase your willpower by understanding the nature of willpower and its weak point of it’s system.
Doing exercise daily
Eating good food for your brain
Taking less stress
Keep practising on delay gratification
Do meditate
Set a goal and work upon it
Believe in your ability
Get a proper sleep or rest
If you can properly work upon those factors then no doubt you will increase your willpower as we all know that nothing is impossible to achieve.
Books on willpower or self control
- Roy Baumeister, psychologist at Florida State University, known for his famous books naming Willpower rediscovering the greatest human strengths, had described the three components for achieving objectives. At first, establishing the motivation for change and setting a clear goal; secondly, monitoring your behaviour towards your goal and last component is willpower. It means if you do want to change your bad habits, willpower is the most.
Kelly McGonigal, psychologist at Stanford University, had written a book naming willpower instinct, is the first book to explain the science of self-control and how it can be harnessed to improve our health,happiness and productivity.There are several practical pieces of advice including explanations of psychological mechanisms.
Willpower and Success
In short,success is unable to achieve without willpower. Successful people do not only have a huge mind or enough strength, they also have determined willpower to achieve their goals.
Willpower gives us strength to overcome negative thoughts, laziness, procrastination. Whatever may be the situation, willpower provides the strong energy to overcome that.
At every phase of life, we have to make a decision on something and we need strong willpower to make the right decision.
In 2011, a survey conducted namely 'Stress in America' revealed that 27% of people lacks willpower to change themselves. So willpower plays a greater role in success.
Conclusion
Willpower is the most essential thing one must have to live a successful life. Even if you have many other abilities, if you lack willpower your achievement will always be one step behind.
You can work to increase willpower and let your goals be achieved. I am going to end this article by a famous quotes,’’ Willpower is not genetic, it requires the will to resist and the power of a resolved mind.’’
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