“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act, but a habit.” – Aristotle.
Success is a lot of small things done well,
day after day.
What
seems like an overnight success is usually a very long time in the
making. Success is created from people who establish the right habits,
then execute them over and over.
So I wanted to share with you the top 10 habits that have been scientifically proven to give you incredible willpower!
1. MEDITATE
Meditation is the fastest and most effective way to increase your willpower. By
meditating you
are training the brain to focus and resist the urge to wander. Research
shows that after just 2-3 days of practicing meditation for 10 minutes,
your brain will be able to focus better, you will have more energy, and
you will be less stressed.
[1]
There
are a lot of myths surrounding meditation. Burning incense, chanting,
wearing robes, etc. So let's start by explaining what meditation really
is.
Meditation is simply the practice of bringing your thoughts to the present moment. 47% of our lives are spent either reminiscing about the past or thinking about what we are going to do in the future. [
2]
We spend very little time with a clear, focused mind on what we are doing right now.
Meditation
attempts to do just that. This is usually done by sitting upright in a
room that is clear of distractions and focusing solely on your
breathing. However, it can be achieved with any activity that brings
your full focus and attention.
For example, if you
are completely focused on the task of cleaning dishes; without mentally
going over your day, pondering another problem in your head, or thinking
about what you will be doing next, you can achieve a state of
meditation.
If your mind is clear and focused completely on the present task, you will see the benefits of meditation.
To get started meditating, check out
this article which will give you the tools and exercises you need to begin adding the habit of daily meditation.
2. EAT A LOW GLYCEMIC DIET
When the body takes in food, it creates a
chemical known as glucose that travels through the blood stream.
This is what the brain uses as its source of fuel to think, create, and exert willpower. So to ensure a healthy stock of willpower, we want to make sure our brain has enough glucose to use as energy.
[3]
Any
food that contains calories will give your brain glucose to work with.
But not all glucose is created equally. Sugary foods will cause a quick
spike of glucose, giving you willpower fuel for the short-term, but will
cause a subsequent crash that depletes your willpower just as fast.
The
best thing you can do is keep the glucose level in your bloodstream
steady. This will give your brain a consistent reserve of fuel to exert
willpower for the long-term.
To accomplish this, researchers suggest a low-glycemic diet. [4]
Here are some low-glycemic foods that will give you long-term willpower fuel:
1. LEAN PROTEINS
Nothing fancy is required – just lean cuts of beef, poultry, pork and fish.
2. NUTS
Specifically
those nuts that are high in omega-3 fatty acids like walnuts, pecans
and cashews. (Note: this does not include legumes like peanuts).
3. FRESH FRUIT
Fresh
fruit is preferred over dried fruit because dried fruits have a high
concentration of sugar in them. This will result in the glucose spike
for the short term and lead to a subsequent crash. Some good choices are
bananas, blueberries, apples and cherries.
4. VEGETABLES
All
vegetables will help build your long-term willpower, but specific
veggies have a lot of willpower fuel in them are root-based. These
include sweet potatoes, carrots and onions which will all give you some
serious willpower fuel!
Do not try to completely overhaul your diet if you are not used to eating these types of foods. Instead focus on eating them for
just one meal per day. The best of which would be
eating them for breakfast.
3. GET ENOUGH SLEEP
When
you don't get enough sleep, your willpower takes the biggest hit. When
you are tired, your brain cells are not able to absorb glucose as
efficiently as when you are well rested.
This means that you begin lose the “power” in your willpower. [
5]
Then your brain will recognize the fact that it is not getting enough glucose, and immediately start to crave sugary foods
and caffeine to replenish its supply. However, because your brain cells
are not absorbing glucose as efficiently as they should be, not only
will you give in to eating junk, you will
eat much more than you need.
Your
brain will continue to crave junk food until it gets as much glucose as
it can out of your bloodstream – regardless of how many calories that
may be.
Luckily, there are scientifically proven tactics that will help you get a better night’s sleep even without adding more hours:
1. A COMPLETELY DARK ROOM
Most
of us underestimate the affect that lights in our room have on our
sleep. When our room is completely dark, it helps our brain shut down
and sleep more efficiently. This helps us get more rest out of the hours
we lay in bed; helping to restore our willpower. [
6]
2. Nap
Other
research suggests that it is the amount of consecutive hours you spend
awake that matters the most. So breaking up the day with a nap can have
significant benefits. It is better to sleep for 7 hours with a 1-hour
nap than it is to sleep for 8 consecutive hours without taking that
break during the day.
3. Create a reservoir
Getting
more sleep on the weekend will create a reserve of energy your brain
can use for willpower during the week. So if you cannot squeeze more
hours of sleep in during the week, see if you can catch up on the
weekend.
4. EXERCISE
We all know that exercise is good for our health, but can it also be
good for our willpower?
In order to find out, researchers found 24 non-exercisers between 18
and 50 to partake in a 2-month study. They were given free gym
memberships and asked to exercise just 1x/week for the first month and
3x/week for the second month.
Throughout the study they would test the participants on various self-control activities from resisting temptations to persevering through challenging tasks.
The results were nothing short of remarkable.
After just
2 months of exercise every participant had indeed
increased his or her ability to resist temptations and persevere on tasks.
But the benefits didn’t end there. Without any instruction by the researchers, the participants also:
· Procrastinated less
· Felt more in control of their emotions
· Reduced smoking, alcohol and caffeine intake
· Saved more money
· Ate less junk food
· Began eating a healthier diet
· Watched less TV
· Spent more time studying
· Splurged on impulse purchases less
· Were more likely to be on time to appointments
All of these activities occurred naturally from the habitual exercise! [
9]
Now,
before you set a plan to go from not exercising at all to exercising
every day, let’s pause. It’s important to remember that for a full
month, these participants only went to the gym 1x/week. That means they
only went 4 times total in the entire first month!
Clearly,
it is not necessary for you to go crazy with your exercise plan. To start getting all of the benefits listed above, you just need to
make a plan that is consistent, not overwhelming. Whether you can exercise 1x/week or 4x/week, it doesn’t matter. To see the benefits, you just need to set a plan that
you will not fail.
5. FOCUS ON ONE TASK AT A TIME
Ready for a puzzle? See if you can write down a list of all 50 states.
When you have listed 10, see if you can continue writing them while also figuring out the answer to 17 x 24.
Were you able to do it?
We have 2 distinct parts of our brain that help in our problem-solving. One is the
limbic system, which makes our easy and automatic decisions. This
includes brushing our teeth and stopping at a red light. This part of
the brain is also short-term minded, and is what motivates us to indulge
in unhealthy food and get off of the treadmill.
The other is
the
pre-frontal cortex, which solves more difficult problems
like how to effectively communicate or solve more complicated math
equations like the one above. This is also the part of our brain that
thinks long-term and is responsible for our willpower.
The
problems above both require the pre-frontal cortex to solve. If I were
to ask you to write the 50 states and do a simple problem like 10 x 5,
you would have had no problem doing it. 10 x 5 is easy. It only
requires our limbic system to solve, so we can successfully multi-task.
The
more we multi-task, the more we train our limbic system. So by trying
to do 4 things at once, we are unknowingly making the part of the brain
that wants us to indulge stronger.
The pre-frontal cortex, however, cannot multi-task. The problems it deals with are too complicated.
So by focusing on one task at a time, we are making the part of the brain that exerts willpower stronger!
So resist the temptation to multi-task and remain focused. This will train your willpower and help you make tough decisions.
6. PRACTICE MINDFULNESS
We
tend to believe that every choice we make throughout the day
goes through a process of well-informed decision-making. But 45% of our
daily-decision are made completely automatically. From what we decide to
eat, what we decide to wear and what we decide to do when we first get
to work, our brains are running on autopilot. [
11]
You can overcome this tendency by
becoming more mindful of your daily decisions. This is as simple as pausing and questioning
why you
are making the decision to get coffee as soon as you make it into the
office. Or why you are eating cereal for breakfast rather than eggs.
Simply question these daily decisions and you will strengthen your willpower to make better choices throughout the day.
7. SELF-MONITORING
Something
odd happens in our brains when we look at ourselves in the mirror. The
part of the brain that would say "hey, that's me in the mirror" is not
activated. Instead it is a part of the brain that says "I wish I was
taller, skinnier, more muscular, etc." [
12]
In other words, rather than seeing see
who we are, we see
who we want to be. This is not because we are shallow, it is because we all have an ideal self that we want to live up to.
With this ideal self in our mind, we begin to think and act more like them.
The best way to keep your ideal self in mind is through a process called Self-Monitoring. This
involves keeping track of as much information on yourself as possible.
Like with the mirror, you will look at the information on yourself and
compare it to what you really want. This will strengthen your willpower and help you make better decisions.
To get started, check out the list of ways to begin self-monitoring at the bottom of
this article.
8. PLAY OFFENSE
When
researchers came across a group of people in the Netherlands who
seemingly had unstoppable willpower, they thought they must be saints.
They ate extremely healthy, exercised regularly, hardly procrastinated
and reported less stress than almost everyone around them.
But they were not saints at all.
Many of them reported that if they were to get behind a bar stool, they
would never leave. Others reported that they were unable to resist
sweets whenever they were around. It seemed that these "saints" were
prone to the same temptations as the rest of us. [
13]
So what was their secret?
The secret, it turned out, was that
these people simply did not put themselves in those situations. Their lifestyles were well-organized to prevent having to look temptation in the face.
These people played offense. They
thought about what might tempt them in the future – whether it was
alcohol, sweets, or distractions from work – and set themselves up to
avoid them. They were seemingly willpower super heroes because they
almost never had to use it.
In your life, look for the things that test your willpower. How can you
play offense and remove future temptations?
9. FIND INSPIRATION
We
have all experienced the feeling of inspiration at some point in our
lives. It may have been from a story in history, a speech by a great
leader, or by a friend or family member. When we become inspired, we get
a rush of energy that we feel can take us to new heights.
It's almost as if we get more willpower.
When we witness something inspiring, the part of the
pre-frontal cortex that
thinks about the long-term lights up. The neurons in this part of the
brain start firing and we feel a rush of energy as we begin to believe
in our dreams and goals.
This essentially means that by becoming inspired, we give the pre-frontal cortex more power. This strengthens our willpower and makes it easier to work towards our long-term goals. [
14]
To
tap into this willpower, find something inspiring that you can turn to
on a daily basis. This will help you find the willpower you need
even when times get tough.
10. CHUNKING
The last and perhaps the most important willpower habit is
chunking. Chunking is the process of taking a large task, goal, dream, etc. and breaking it into manageable “chunks”.
If
you’ve ever had a goal, you know how exciting it can be at first. You
can see the “after photo” of your life when the goal is achieved -
and you love what you see. You imagine all of the great things about the “new you” and you can't wait to get started working towards that goal!
Then
it’s time to actually do the work. And whether that work is putting pen
to paper, or putting foot to treadmill, you get a sudden rush of being
completely overwhelmed. You see just how much work it’s going to take to
get you from where you are, to where you want to be. Then you get
paralyzed by the fact that you don’t know where to begin. So you don't
bother trying, or you lose the persistence to keep going.
Chunking
works because it shifts your focus from that larger goal, into smaller
chunks that are easier for your brain to comprehend. If your goal is to
follow a 12-week exercise plan, it can be overwhelming when you’re tired
on day 4 and thinking about the fact that
you have 80 more days of this. [
15]
But if you shift your focus to simply accomplishing the workout plan
today, you are
far less likely to become overwhelmed. Then, before you know it, 20,
40, 60 days have passed and you are more confident than ever that we can
make it to the end.
