“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.
Here are
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. [7]
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. [8]
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. [10]
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. [10]
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.
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.
CONCLUSION
Excellence
is a habit. It is a lot of small things done well, day-after-day. Starting any
one of the habits listed above has been proven to give you incredible willpower
over time. But you must be consistent.
It will be
far more beneficial for you to begin just 1 of these daily willpower habits and
do it consistently, than to do all 10 for a short period of time. So select
just 1 habit to add to your life and stick to it. After it has truly become a
habit, move on to the next one. Over time, you will see incredible benefits to
your willpower!
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Source:
Oprah.com
