What was your first reaction to reading that word above Jodi? 🤔
It’s a pretty loaded word.
I’ve heard many people say it’s triggering for them.
Likely you had something akin to a “yuck” feeling come over you.
So many of us rely on willpower to get through a task or project (or even the whole day sometimes). But is this actually how you want to be working? Is this how you would choose to approach something? Is it the best use of your time and energy?
Because, ya, willpower takes energy. It sucks up a ton of energy. Not only do you have a certain amount of time each day Jodi, you’ve also got only so much energy to go around.
So whenever you’re depending on that willpower to get through something, you’ll end up exhausted and depleted which ironically means you’ll be able to get less done overall. 🤦
It’s like trying to push a car along all by yourself. Unless you’re He-Man (blast from the past!) you’re going to deplete your energy real quick trying to force those 3,000 – 4,000 pounds along. Without actually getting anywhere at that.
Willpower” (also known as “grit” and “pushing through”) suggests something we really don’t want to do and/or something we really don’t like doing.
And it seems expected that you should simply tap into your willpower to “just get the thing done”. Because otherwise:
⛔ You’re not trying hard enough
⛔ You lack self-disciple
⛔ You must not want it bad enough
â›” You’re just making excuses
Well-meaning friends and colleagues will offer up their advice, telling you that all it takes is a simple tool or strategy: Pomodoro method, time blocking, [insert other suggested productivity hack].
It seems like if you can’t make willpower work for you, something is wrong with you. 😠And if you can overcome it, people will be impressed and admire you.
But I ask you again: Is that actually how you want to be working? Is that how you would choose to approach something? Is that the best use of your time and energy?
Instead of relying on an arbitrary force such as “willpower” to get you where you want to go, try these things:
✅ Shift your perspective and know that you have a choice: You’re choosing to do this task or project for a reason. Can’t stand setting up sales funnels? Remember you’re doing it in order to better serve your clients/customers.
✅ Then make it more fun! Like listen to kick ass music while you work on the thing, set up a coworking session so you can work alongside someone else or take your laptop to a cool café and enjoy the atmosphere.
✅ Also make it easier: Take a few minutes to plan ahead, write down exactly what you need to do, set up your tech or physical space if needed. Prepping as much as possible ahead of time will make it that much easier to take action.
✅ Connect with your “why”: It seems like everyone and their dog is telling us this these days, but it’s so important. You may have just lost sight of your overall vision, desire, values and even your intuition. Go back to all of this for the power of your intrinsic motivation.
If you’re resisting something, get curious about what’s going on. What’s actually behind this behaviour? Check out this blog post for some thought starters. Become aware of and work with whatever you’re resisting in order to move forward with more comfort and ease.
Ease is the name of the game: where there’s ease there’s enough energy for all the things you want to see, do, experience and accomplish every single day.
PS: Your worth and your success and your level of productivity do not depend on your willpower. 🙌
Thanks for sharing! I feel like I’ve been saying this on repeat! It’s much deeper than willpower.
You’re so welcome 😀 And yes it’s soooo much deeper!
I’ll keep these points in mind when I’m on a task that I really don’t want to do or enjoy: like troubleshooting my website.
I’d love to hear how it goes with your website with this new perspective 😉 Good luck!
Thanks for sharing this perspective on willpower! It is so true that relying on willpower alone, without finding your why or making it fun is extremely difficult. It is often when doing things that are difficult that we must really look at the why in order to muster the willpower needed to complete the task, and this article gives you the tools for that. Thank you!
You got it Desiree! There’s so much insight in that difficulty 😉
I really appreciate your article on willpower and the importance of shifting your perspective. That helps tremendously!
You’re so welcome, I’m glad you enjoyed it! 😀
I agree that if I focus on I am doing a task for a reason, I can accomplish it more than trying to have willpower. Good post!
So true Ann! 🙌
I totally agree with making things more fun 🙂 It’s all about romanticising your life and finding joy in the mundane
Yes, yes and yes Giada 🥳 I hope you find some joy every day!
Wow. So relatable. Feeling very burnt out this week and needed this motivation right now. Thank you!
You’re so welcome – I’m sending you calm and positive vibes to overcome that burnout ♥
These are great tips. I’ve had days when I rely on willpower, but changing one’s mindset or tackling things in a different way would certainly make things easier for me. Thanks for sharing. Will definitely be trying these out.
Thanks Rosie, I’m glad you loved the tips! You’ve got this 😀