Will Power and Self-Discipline
Sometimes, you wish to go for a walk, knowing how good it is
for your health and how wonderful you feel afterwards, but you feel too lazy,
and prefer to watch TV instead. You might be aware of the fact that you need to
change your eating habits or stop smoking, but you don't have the inner power
and persistence to change these habits.
Does this sound familiar? How many times have you said,
"I wish I had will power and self discipline"? How many times have
you started to do something, only to quit after a short while? We all have had
experiences like these.
Everyone possesses some addictions or habits they wish they
could overcome, such as smoking, excessive eating, laziness, procrastination or
lack of assertiveness. To overcome these habits or addictions, one needs to
have will power and self discipline. They make a great difference in everyone's
life, and bring inner strength, self mastery and decisiveness.
Definitions of Will Power and Self
Discipline
Will power
is the ability to overcome laziness and procrastination. It is the ability to
control or reject unnecessary or harmful impulses. It is the ability to arrive
at a decision and follow it with perseverance until its successful
accomplishment. It is the inner power that overcomes the desire to indulge in
unnecessary and useless habits, and the inner strength that overcomes inner
emotional and mental resistance for taking action. It is one of the corner stones
of success, both spiritual and material.
Self-discipline
is the companion of will power. It endows with the stamina to persevere in
whatever one does. It bestows the ability to withstand hardships and
difficulties, whether physical, emotional or mental. It grants the ability to
reject immediate satisfaction, in order to gain something better, but, which
requires effort and time.
Everyone has inner, unconscious, or partly conscious
impulses, making them say or do things they later regret saying or doing. On
many occasions people do not think before they talk or act. By developing these
two powers, one becomes conscious of the inner, subconscious impulses, and
gains the ability to reject them when they are not for his/her own good.
These two powers
help us to choose our behavior and reactions, instead of being ruled by them.
Their possession won't make life dull or boring. On the contrary, you will feel
more powerful, in charge of yourself and your surroundings, happy and
satisfied.
How many times have you felt too weak, lazy or shy to do
something you wanted to do? You can gain inner strength, initiative and the
ability to make decisions and follow them. Believe me, it is not difficult to
develop these two powers. If you are earnest and are willing to become
stronger, you will certainly succeed.
In this article, you will find some exercises and techniques
for developing these abilities. These simple, but effective exercises, can be
performed everywhere and at any time. Go slowly and gradually, and you will see
how you get stronger and your life start improving.
There is a misconception in the public mind regarding will
power. It is erroneously thought to be something strenuous and difficult, and
that one has to exert and tense the body and mind when expressing it. It is a completely wrong concept.
This is one of the reasons why people avoid using it, though they are conscious
of its benefits. They acknowledge the fact that the employment of will power in
their life and affairs will greatly help them, and that they need to strengthen
it, yet they do nothing about it.
Will power gets stronger by holding back and not allowing
the expression of unimportant, unnecessary and unhealthy thoughts, feelings,
actions and reactions. If this saved energy is not allowed expression, it is
stored inside you like a battery, and it becomes available at the time of need.
By practicing appropriate exercises, you develop your powers the same way, as a
person who trains his/her muscles in order to strengthen them.
Developing Will
Power and Self Discipline
An effective method for developing and improving these
abilities is to perform certain actions or activities, which you would rather
avoid doing due to laziness, procrastination, weakness, shyness, etc. Doing
things that you usually do not like to do. or feel too lazy to do, you overcome
your subconscious resistance, train your mind to obey you, strengthen your
inner powers and gain inner strength. Muscles get stronger by resisting the
power of the barbells. Inner strength is attained by overcoming inner
resistance.
Remember, strengthening one of these abilities,
automatically strengthens the other one.
Here are a few
exercises:
1) You are sitting in a bus or train and an old man or
woman, or a pregnant lady walks in. Stand up and give up your seat, even if you
prefer to stay seated. Act so, not just because it is polite, but because you
are doing something that you are reluctant to do. This is an exercise in
overcoming the resistance of your body, mind and feelings.
2) There are dishes in the sink that need washing, and you
postpone washing them for later. Get up and wash them now. Do not let your
laziness overcome you. When you know that in this way you are developing your
will power, and if you are convinced of the importance of will power in your
life, it will be easier for you to do whatever you have to do.
3) You come home tired from work and sit in front of the
T.V., because you feel too lazy and too tired to take a shower first. Do not
succumb to the desire to sit in front of the T.V, and go and take a shower.
4) You may know your body needs some physical exercise, but
instead you keep on sitting doing nothing or watching a movie. Get up and walk,
run or do some other physical exercise.
5) Do you like your coffee with sugar? If you do, then for
one whole week drink it without sugar. Do you drink three cups of coffee each
day? If you do, then drink only two cups a day for one whole week.
6) Sometimes, when you want to say something that is not
important, decide not to say it.
7) Don't read some unimportant gossip in the newspaper, even
if you want to.
8) You have a desire to eat something not too healthy. For
the sake of the exercise refuse the desire.
9) If you find yourself thinking unimportant, unnecessary,
negative thoughts, try to develop a lack of interest in them, by thinking about
their futility and uselessness.
10) Overcome your laziness. Convince yourself of the
importance of what is to be done. Convince your mind that you gain inner
strength when you act and do things, in spite of laziness, reluctance or
senseless inner resistance.
Never say that you cannot follow the above exercises,
because you certainly can. Be persistent no matter what. Motivate yourself by
thinking about of the importance of performing the exercises, and the inner
power and strength you will gain.
Trying to attempt too many exercises when you are still a
beginner, might end in disappointment. It is better to start with a few easy
exercises at first, and then gradually increase their number and move to the
more difficult exercises.
Most of these
exercises can be practiced anywhere and at anytime, and you don't
have to devote special times for them. They will train and develop your inner
strength, enabling you to use it whenever you need it.
If you practice weight lifting, running or aerobics, you
strengthen your muscles, so that when you need to move or carry something
heavy, for example, you have the strength for it. By studying French each day,
you will be able to speak French when you travel to France
If for the sake of an exercise, you stop doing something
that you usually do, and overcome the inner resistance concerning it, you may
resume doing it, if it is not harmful. For example, if you love drinking orange
juice, and for the sake of an exercise you switch to drinking apple juice,
after doing so for some time, and after it makes no great difference to you,
you may go back to drinking orange juice, if you still like it. The point here
is to develop inner strength, not making life difficult for you or continue
doing things you don't like to do.
Benefits of
Possessing Strong Will Power and Self Discipline
You need these skills to control your thoughts, improve your
concentration, and to become the boss of your mind. The stronger these skills
are, the more inner strength you possess.
Being the master of your mind you enjoy inner peace and
happiness. External events do not sway you, and circumstances have no power
over your peace of mind. This might sound too unreal for you, but experience
will prove to you that all the above is true.
These skills are vital for achieving success. They give you
more control over your life, help you change and improve habits, and are
essential for self improvement, spiritual growth and meditation.
Practice the exercises presented here earnestly and
persistently, and your life will start changing.
If you liked this article and wish to make real progress,
gain inner power and self-control, overcome laziness and procrastination, and
become more decisive and assertive, you need to read the book "Willpower
and Self Discipline".
You will find in this book full guidance and instructions to
help you attain inner mastery and inner power. You will also find a lot of
practical information, advice and powerful exercises that you can practice at
any time you want and at any place.
