Willpower and Goals

Are you the type of person who has a lot of willpower to see a project through to its completion or do you feel your willpower is lacking? While many people think that some people have more willpower than others this is simply not true. Everyone has the same amount of willpower - what is different is the way you choose to use your willpower. 

It is easy to blame your lack of willpower for the choices you make and for giving up. How many times have you heard someone say, "I just don't have the willpower to follow through?"

The real question is: Do you really want to achieve your goals, or are you happy to continue using the excuse that you do not have enough willpower?

If you really want to achieve your goals, then you certainly can.  You simply have to make sure you have the right mindset and know you can achieve them. Make sure, though, that you are setting realistic goals. You may find, for example, a goal to run this year's marathon may be unrealistic if the last time you did any exercise at all was 10 years ago!

Take a look at each of your goals and make sure it IS realistic within the timescale you are setting for it. Sit quietly and envision yourself achieving it. If you can do this, great! If not, it may be time to scale back on it a little until you really can visualize the right outcome. Then, as you progress towards that goal you can always expand it until eventually you are achieving the original goal which was initially too ambitious.

I want to emphasize that "realistic" here has nothing to do with what others around you may be telling you. Your realistic goal may be considered far to ambitious by your friends and family, but that is not what counts.  What matters is what YOU can internalize as realistic.

Now that you have realistic goals, sit quietly again and picture yourself once you have achieved that goal. If your goal is to lose 10 pounds, visualize yourself wearing the clothes you will now be able to wear. See yourself in the mirror and admire your new, well balanced body. If your goal is to speak a new foreign language fluently, see yourself surrounded by native speakers of that language, having a great time with your new friends. Whatever your goal, really internalize all the positive outcomes of achieving it.

Do this frequently until it becomes a habit.

Create a picture board, or mind map, of your new life once you have achieved your goal. Just looking at this picture board should energize you and make you determined to achieve it.

Now, every time you feel your motivation lacking, your willpower slipping away, just look again at your picture board and visualize your life after you have achieved your goal. Do you feel your motivation return, your willpower strengthened? You certainly should! If not, you are either working on the wrong goal or you have not yet really visualized properly the difference it is going to make in your life!

Don't forget, of course, to create the write positive affirmations for your goal as well. I am not going to explore this important subject here, but check my blog and other positive sites for articles on affirmations if you are not completely familiar with how and why you should do this.

Shifting your mindset will probably not happen overnight. Usually it will take time and effort on your part. Just remember that nothing is impossible if you really want to achieve it, so your focus at the outset MUST be to ensure you have that strong desire to achieve it.

Finally, remember that goals change over time. You must be ready for this and adapt as necessary so you can continue to achieve your evolving goals.