Will Power or Motivation or Do I Need Both?

You are watching a video or reading a book then you get fired up, you want to be the best version of yourself, you strongly believe you can achieve this goal you have put off for a long time now, you can reach your full potential. Then a few hours later you are down, feeling like life served you dog food for breakfast and you are back to old habits.

In another scenario, through some online body transformation video, the inspiration to exercise comes, the desire to feel light, attractive, clean, and in shape feels so good and overwhelming.

You download an app for exercises or buy a gym subscription (some people don’t get here).

Start exercising the first day, with the feeling of wanting to do more than required.

This continues for some days or weeks usually with varying degrees of success.

Then life sets in.

You give up. Other tasks in life interrupt and you gradually drift out, the enthusiasm/motivation fading, alongside it, a list of excuses for justification that will help you not feel bad about quitting. Then that may be the end of it.

That’s generally how we develop a desire that pushes us into action but lack the discipline and commitment to see it through till the end.

The two forces behind this behavioral pattern are motivation and willpower. By definition, willpower is the control exerted to do something or restrain impulses.

Motivation is a reason or reasons for acting or behaving in a particular way. Also, it can be a desire or willingness to do something; enthusiasm.

So, it can be said that willpower is a commitment to making something happen, while motivation is the "why" for something happening.

Misconceptions about motivation.

When engaging with goals or achieving the things we want, there are often some assumptions especially on motivation that might not be true.

-Getting motivated is reliable to get us through our goals.

Motivation is an emotion that can be affected by how you feel. Your motivation can easily wear off if you are sad or in a bad mood.

-There is a need to first be motivated before taking action and getting things done.

-Motivation will remain steady or increase as the goal proceeds.

Taking action is frequently the only way to motivate yourself, which is a fatal flaw in the "let's become motivated first" technique.

"80% of success is first showing up." Woody Allen

Willpower is not often discussed as much as motivation probably because it's harder to do. In this article we will delve more into willpower. Willpower and subsequently discipline gives us the sustainability to achieve what we are aiming at.

"Willpower is not a new notion, but we still don't have a good understanding of how to develop it." Epictetus

Some people think motivation alone is worthless and that discipline, more than any other attribute, is rather what motivates a person to succeed in the face of adversity. Also, that mastering the skill of goal-setting, time management, leadership, parenting, and relationships requires persistent self-discipline.

However, I think a great deal about discipline can be learned from elite athletes who have tremendous success. They rely on desire and tremendous self-discipline to stay on their path. Being motivated helps them to be disciplined in the long run but discipline boosts their self-esteem and patience.

They recommend behaving with your body first, then your mind is more likely to "align" with it. I've had this experience several times myself, and I'm sure you can recollect a time when you didn't feel like doing anything but started regardless and then got into it.

Roy Baumeister, Ph.D., a psychologist at Florida State University and a willpower researcher, describes three essential components for completing goals: To begin, he argues, you must first determine why you want to change and create a clear goal. Second, you must keep track of your progress toward that goal. Willpower is the third element. Willpower is a crucial component of achieving any goal, whether it's to lose weight, quit smoking, or study more. I had previously written about a framework for goal setting that includes these themes you can read the article here.

It is also possible to improve our willpower the more we exercise it.

So, we can see that both have their place, motivation for desire and willpower for sustainability. Unfortunately, common practice is to rely only on motivation.

“Willpower is the key to success. Successful people strive no matter what they feel by applying their will to overcome apathy, doubt or fear.” Dan Millman

The Neuroanatomy of Willpower

The prefrontal cortex (PFC) is the region of our brain that is responsible for abstract thinking, idea analysis, and behavior regulation. You're relying on your PFC when you meditate or consider opposing thoughts, forecast outcomes of your choices, and decide "good versus wrong." According to studies, this portion of the brain is the slowest to mature, taking until approximately the age of 25 to finish. Willpower draws on several regions of the PFC with its "I will, I won't, and I desire powers." A willpower challenge is characterized by a struggle between the cognitive and the impulsive systems. You may want to look up the story of Phineas Gage to give you more perspective on the topic.

Many researchers have studied willpower closely both the biology and psychology and shown that we can with little efforts daily improve the strength of our willpower.

Improving willpower

Willpower is a stronger and sustainable technique because it allows for consistency, but there is also a major flaw: Willpower can be depleted. How then can we avoid depleting our willpower resources while yet achieving consistent results?

First things first

Know your strengths and weaknesses.

We all have weaknesses.

Whether they're the desire for alcohol, tobacco, unhealthy food, obsession over social media, they have a similar effect on us.

The promise of reward doesn’t always equal satisfaction. Your mind tricks you into believing the object of your desire is what will make you happy. But long-term satisfaction is rooted in your ability to refrain from impulses that stray from your goals and values.

Clearly articulating your strengths and weaknesses will enable you to make effective use of the next points.

Get adequate sleep, nutrition, and hydration.

These factors can have a significant impact on our ability to fill and tune into our intuition. When you're tired, thirsty, and/or hungry, it's much more difficult to make decisions that are in line with your objectives. This is why you can wake up with good intentions and lots of willpower but by the evening it becomes harder to exercise your will.

Just go for it.

Sometimes we wait until we “feel” like doing it. The problem is, we may never feel like it. Usually, the motivation to do something comes after we get started. The hardest part about working out at the gym is often just getting yourself to go to the gym. The hardest part about writing is just sitting down and getting started. If you can eliminate the barriers to getting started, then your chance of success is far greater than waiting for inspiration. Always decompose tasks that look complex into the smallest doable steps this can help you overcome procrastination and the initial resistance to begin.

Make it into a habit

One way to reduce willpower fatigue is to turn the activity for which it is required into a habit that will subsequently require less effort. I had previously written about habits and how we can leverage the habit loop to achieve our goals.

Meditate

Meditation is reported to be one of the most effective strategies to educate your brain for better self-control. What is the reason for this? Because meditation has a significant impact on a variety of skills related to self-control:

Meditation will improve self-awareness, attention, focus, stress management, impulse control.

Training yourself to notice when you’re making a decision rather than acting on autopilot is an effective strategy.

When you're caught in a long wait, meditation can be as simple as taking five deep, soothing breaths. The neurological advantages are enormous.

Seek help

Studies suggest that having a support system can assist people in achieving their goals. Surround yourself with individuals you can trust who will be supportive of your goals and eager to assist you in achieving them.

Exercise

For a lot of people, physical exercise is their willpower challenge. For me exercise is one of the best tools I use to strengthen my willpower.

Avoid

-Self-Criticism

-Temptation

I read that, males are more willing to take financial risks when they see sexy images. A concept well used in casinos. Also, people overreact when they fantasize about winning the lottery. This excitment occurs with the secretion of dopamine in the brain.

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter released by the brain when it is in a reward-seeking mode.

When your system is saturated with dopamine, the lure of instant gratification is heightened, leaving you less concerned about long-term implications and more susceptible to all kinds of temptations.

Avoid things or situations that tempt you so you don’t have to use your willpower in the first place.

"People with low willpower use it to get themselves out of crises. People with high willpower use it not to get themselves into crises."

Roy Baumeister

Conclusion

Motivational content "activates" desires inside you that you already have. View motivation as a bonus, not a requirement for action. When you use small steps and willpower combination, you will become even more motivated. Too often, we try to engineer motivation before taking action when we only need to take one small step forward. I have been able to use this to increase my productivity in several ways.

One of your most powerful allies is paying attention. It's a good idea to know your strengths and weaknesses, train yourself to detect when you're making a decision.

Teach your brain to take a breath before acting. The promise of a reward does not always imply fulfillment. Long-term happiness is dependent on your capacity to resist desires that contradict your goals and ideals. Seek help from those who can have a positive influence on you in this journey.

   “Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.” Mahatma Gandhi

You may want to read the following to learn more:

Will Power: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength (John Tierney, 2011)

Meanings of Life (Roy Baumeister, 1991)

Can't Hurt Me (David Goggins, 2018)

Social psychology of human nature (Roy Baumeister, 2007)