How to develop willpower and self-discipine
Willpower is the pillar of all other strengths, because to have physical strength, we must increase it or maintain it, and to do so, we must apply resistance to it in a consistent way. To substantially increse our physical strength, we must have the required mental strength (willpower) to push our body to its limit (in this case I use physical training as an example because it is tangible and easy to visualize, but this principle applies to any skillset that we may practice).
In this video, the ex-hindu priest Dandapani teaches why it is beneficial to develop and to have willpower, as well as how to do it, by sharing 3 methods to use for developing and maintaining willpower.
Let’s start with why, in the words of the teacher :
I develop willpower to control where my awareness goes, I control where my awareness goes to control where my energy flows, and I control where my energy flows to control what manifests in my life (in other words, the results we create in our life).
Having willpower is therefore a way to control our life and to create the results we want in our life, because willpower is a muscle which allows to control our awareness and concentration, and to maintain them where we really want to, which determines wher our energy flows.
Then, here is how, the 3 methods :
#1: Finishing what we begin.
#2 : Doing it a little better than we think we can.
#3 : Doing it a little more than we think we can.
Starting new things, like new projects, is easy to do. Completing them, however, requires willpower.
How to do it : to train with small things and mostly, things that are non-negotiable recurring events in our everyday life. For example, we all have to sleep, therefore we all wake up in the morning. This is an event that allows for us to practice every day, and making our bed is a way to finish to process of sleep. The way to do it better and more is to bring excellence into this practice, making it beautifully, for example Dandapani explains that sometimes he folds the comforter like certain hotels do it.
This may sound silly, but it isn’t, it’s efficient. Making our bed is finishing what we begin, and finishing what we begin, is training our willpower.
Another example would be the action of feeding ourselves, which we do multiple times a day. Washing and putting the dishes back in the pantry, is finishing the process of eating. Brushing our teeth right after, is also a way of finishing this process, and it requires self-discipline and willpower.
In conclusion :
Using non-negotiable recurring events from our every day life to practice finishing what we begin, doing it a little better and a little more, are ways to train our willpower and therefore, to strengthen our control over our life.
–Francis LaBadie