Studies show that willpower is the number-one obstacle we face in achieving our goals. People that lack willpower often feel guilty about not having enough self-control and worry about letting themselves and other down.

 

This has drastic consequences because ultimately someone like this will feel that their life is not under their control. Such feelings will kill any motivation and leave you feeling numb and exhausted. 

 

But what happens if you have willpower?

 

The same studies indicate that people with higher levels of willpower earn more money, do better in school, and generally life happier and healthier lives. These findings paint a clear picture, more willpower should always be favored over less.

 

Of course, no one is perfect and you will not become a master of your willpower overnight. But even if we take baby steps every day they will accumulate over time and bring us big benefits. Before we do that, let’s first define what it really is.

 

Willpower always relates to having goals and acting in accordance with them. So if you want to lose weight, build muscle and life a healthier life you have to do certain things and some of them will not always be pleasurable.

 

Someone with willpower will still do these things because they have to be done in order to reach their goal, but someone without willpower will give in to the temptations and not be able to say no. They will go out partying when they should be studying for an important exam or they will binge eat for the third day in a row when their goal is to lose weight.

 

Sometimes a lack of willpower is less obvious, however. Sometimes we tell ourselves we will do something but never actually do it – Procrastination is the result and if not addressed will get worse over
time.

 

How do you avoid this vicious cycle?

 

The good news is that willpower can be trained like a muscle. At first, it will be difficult and you will be drawn back to your old habits. but if you Stay on course, You’ll find it easier and easier to say no to the temptations and actually enjoy the pursuit of your goals.

 

 

 

Temptations aren’t just short thoughts about that piece of pizza. There are actual physiological changes happening in your brain. Once you catch sight of that pizza, dopamine will be released by your brain and you will much of your attention towards it.

 

Dopamine is released when your brain wants to trigger action. It tells you that you have to eat this piece of pizza now, otherwise you will suffer the consequences. Of course, the real consequence will be you feeling bad about breaking your diet but if we think about how humans brains developed it all makes sense.

 

Thousands of years ago this insatiable appetite was vital for survival. If, after going without food for multiple days, you had the opportunity to binge eat you better do so otherwise you could actually die. In the developed world, these days are fortunately over, but our instincts stayed with us.

 

This is problematic in today’s modern world, where we are constantly bombarded with information and stimuli to get us to act. Buy this, eat that, go there. Advertising always keeps us wanting more and of course, food companies know how to create effective ads to trigger dopamine. 

 

Basically, we are always told that „Hey look, Here’s a reward!” In this crazy environment, it takes a rather dramatic shift in behavior to escape from these traps. If you want to succeed in this environment, you have to learn to distinguish between the false, distracting, and addicting “rewards” and your true goals that bring meaning to your life.

 

 

 

A difference between your long-term goals and your immediate actions creates stress. The problem is that stress has a direct influence on your motivation and will decrease your chances of sticking to your goals. The more stressed you are, the more likely you will do the things you regret afterwards.

 

Conversely, people with less stress in their lives display better self-control and are more likely to reach their goals. This means that anything you can do to decrease the stress in your life will help your chances of sticking to your diet and workout plan. But lowering your stress levels has to be learned, too.

 

Most people will try this by laying on the couch, watching tv and eating comfort food. While this might help you through immediate gratification, its ineffective for reducing stress levels long term.

 

Watching TV or eating comfort food actually increases stress levels and creates another vicious cycle. Indulging often leads to guilt, and when followed by more indulging creates more guilt and so on.

 

So what are activities that actually decrease your stress levels and help you? Going for a walk outside, for example, or reading. Doing yoga, or simply lying down and trying to relax your muscles.

 

Physical exercise also helps – not immediately, because it obviously raises your heart rate instead of slowing it down. In the long-term exercise will reduce blood pressure and lower cholesterol levels which in turn helps with your stress levels.