How to develop willpower: effective techniques

Как развить силу воли: эффективные техники

It happens that the decisions made are not implemented for one simple reason: wonderful spiritual impulses are broken by the need to perform daily routine actions. We often lack the willpower to keep the rhythm, and we give up, abandon plans, and and then suffer from guilt and our own insignificance. How to develop willpower and self-control? How to give up bad habits and inculcate good ones? The good news is that the right qualities can be trained.

What is willpower and how it works
How to Develop Willpower: 5 Easy and Effective Ways
The main thing about development of willpower and self-control

What is willpower and how does it work

The prefrontal area of the brain is responsible for self-control. It has evolved over many millennia to ensure the survival of our species. It is from the work of this small part of the brain that depends how expedient we act and how we resolve internal conflicts that arise in moments when strong-willed efforts are required.

PhD, psychologist Kelly McGonigal spent many years studying the mechanism of willpower and concluded that each of us is controlled by three forces:

"I will." This power makes us do things we don want to, in the name of goal: getting up early in the morning for a run, exercising, brushing our teeth, going ;work.
"I won't won't." This power allows us to give up temptations and bad habits: turn away doughnuts for a beautiful figure, stop smoking to preserve health.
"I want". It is the power of our true desires and needs, what we really want.

Willpower — it is the ability to consciously control the impulses "I" will, "I" will not, "I" want and run them when you need to perform the necessary actions. The more she trains, the stronger she is, the fewer failures in her work.

How to Develop Willpower: 5 Easy Effective Ways

There is no point in constantly and mercilessly forcing yourself to do something “through I don’t want to.” It still won't give the desired result. You will break quickly. Something else must be done: translate the necessary phenomenon into "I" will. This is possible if it corresponds to "I want", i.e. true needs and desires.

There are many recommended ways to develop willpower, but you shouldn concentrate too much on them. Everything is much simpler: if this is a natural function of the prefrontal zone of the brain, then it is important to create conditions for its normal operation. And this is where the advice of psychologist Kelly McGonigal comes in handy.

1. Breathe: the prefrontal area needs oxygen

All of us, especially residents of megacities, lack oxygen. If the brain cells are malnourished and literally suffocate, one can only dream of willpower: God forbid that it is enough for the simplest actions. Your task — learn how to fill up with oxygen as much as possible. It's easy.

You will need a stopwatch. Inhale slowly, gradually draw air into yourself for 7 seconds, filling your lungs to the limit. Now exhale slowly for 7 seconds. The duration of one breathing cycle should be 10–15 seconds.

How to develop willpower with the help of this technique? The method is simple: when you need to hold back an impulsive impulse, turn on "I won't" just stop and breathe. This will help to give up & nbsp; a cake, a cigarette, an extra purchase. The method works for all kinds of restrictions.

2. Meditation perfectly develops self-control and will

Experiencing stress? Don't do anything, get nervous, and it makes everything even worse? Learn to meditate. You don't have to master complex poses and visualizations. Enough 5-10 minutes to observe breathing. Time — any of your choice. Ideal — before bed when you are in the twilight zone».

Slowly inhale and exhale, feeling the air in lungs and exit. To make it easier, for the first couple of minutes, repeat to yourself: "Inhale, exhale." That way you will not be distracted. If you catch yourself losing concentration, and your thoughts begin to wander, return yourself to the lesson, repeating the words "inhale", "exhale" to yourself.

Good news: Kelly McGonigal claims that failures in meditation don't worsen results, but...improve. It's all about the features of the prefrontal zone. When you go astray, and and then bring yourself back to concentration on breathing, you exercise the power of "I will" again.

3. Outdoor walk — source of happiness

If you find it difficult to force yourself to perform the necessary action, postpone it for 15–30 minutes and take a walk in the street, preferably in a park. So you kill two birds with one stone: provide the prefrontal zone of the brain with oxygen and activate the production of endorphins — happiness hormones. The internal resistance will subside, and it will be easier for you to refuse temptation or force yourself to do something.

4. Full sleep — protection against failures and failures

A sleepy person feels weakened, unhappy. Everything annoys him. In an attempt to make up for the lack of energy, the body gives signals of hunger. Hence overeating, cravings for fatty and sweet foods.

Find out how much time you need for proper rest, create an ideal sleep schedule and stick to it steadily. This will help to avoid relapses.

5. Catering hours — a good way to organize life

Do you still think that self-discipline and the desire for order poison life? Then get ready for amazing news. For the brain, there is nothing worse than a mess, and no matter how it manifests — in & nbsp; irregular meals or scattered things. When a person eats by the clock, his brain "checks" and calms down.

Read also: Night Wakes: Why I Sleep Badly

The main thing about development of willpower and self-control

Willpower — "built-in option" of the human brain, therefore the main thing in development — do not interfere with normal operation:

Breathe. Slow deep breaths and exhalations for 7 seconds will fill the cells of the prefrontal zone of the brain with oxygen and facilitate strong-willed efforts.
Get enough sleep. The less you sleep, the less likely you are to resist chocolate, cigarettes, or other harmful things that create the illusion of pleasure.
Walk. Oxygen plus endorphins — the secret of peace and happiness.
Meditate. It calms the excited psyche, develops concentration.
Eat by the hours. Adjusted schedule, order and system — what your brain needs.