“The will is the integrity of the soul….  When the winds of life blow hard, integrity will stand, but weak structures will fall.”  Peter J. Daniels

How’s your willpower?  Does it stand or fall when the “winds of life blow hard?”

You may say, “I am allowed to do anything.” But I reply, “Not everything is good for you.” And even though “I am allowed to do anything,” I must not become a slave to anything.  (1 Cor. 6:12; NLT)

I’ve heard some teach the concept that “your why is far more important than your how.”  In other words, if you have a very strong “why” you’re doing something, you will find a “how” that works no matter what.  Of course, the “why” is just another word for motive for a particular desire.  So, if your motive for a given desire is strong enough, that will fuel, or put power, into your will to satisfy that desire.  If the desire is weak, the willpower will be week.  If the desire is strong, so is the willpower.

This is all well and good, but I’m sure you can think of times in your life, as I can in mine, when you’re sure your “why,” or your desire to reach a certain outcome was super high.  You just can’t imagine wanting something any more than you wanted that particular desire.  However, it seemed like your willpower was so weak that for every step forward you took two steps back.  More than likely, there is a hidden desire, hidden in your heart or subconscious, that is fearful of the ultimate outcome if you achieve that desired goal.  Some call this self-sabotage. 

Without going any deeper down that rabbit hole, there are certainly times when we wish we had a “stronger” willpower.  Most believe that your willpower is like a muscle and can be exercised and strengthened so that the stronger willpower is available when needed.  How do you “pump iron” with your willpower?  Simply by doing something for a period of time that you would really rather not do.  For instance, if you would rather not wash the dishes until later, get up and go wash them now.  If you would rather watch the football game rather than mow the lawn, go mow the lawn.  In other words, force yourself to do something that you would rather put off for some reason.

Or it could be something that you would like to eat, e.g., reaching for that cookie after supper.  Don’t!  Pass it up.  Not forever…just for a few days to “exercise” your willpower.  Or conversely, it could be something that you don’t care to eat, like beets.  Eat them anyway.  Again, we’re not necessarily working to establish new habits here, although some of these things might be good habits, but we are working that willpower muscle in order to strengthen it.  Perform these kinds of exercises for a couple of days and then revert back to your preferred behavior (unless it’s harmful).  Motivate yourself to do these exercises with the promise of a stronger willpower.  Over time, gradually increase the difficulty of the exercises as your willpower grows in strength. 

Today’s link presents another interesting view of willpower.  This author makes the argument that willpower is not designed for sustained use on a particular issue.  It’s designed for sprints rather than marathons.  He asserts that “willpower is temporary.”  His article is more about the proper use of willpower than it is about how to strengthen it.  That’s certainly another important aspect of this topic regarding our wills.

Happy sprinting!

Prayer Power
Lord, You gave us a will to use in a proper way.  Too many of us have put it on the shelf and allowed it to weaken and atrophy.  Show us additional ways we can build up and strengthen this incredible gift.

Link of the Day
Self-Discipline: Willpower

Blessings on you as you exercise your willpower this week.