Will Power and Self-Discipline
Will Power and Self-Discipline
By Remez Sasson
Sometimes, you wish to go for a walk, knowing how good it is for your
health and how wonderful you feel afterwards, yet, 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, yet, 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 to 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. By doing something that you do
not like doing or are 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. Do this not just because
it is polite, but because you are doing something that you are
reluctant to do. In this way you are 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 tired to go and wash. Do not obey the desire to
just sit, but go and have 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? Then for a whole week decide
to drink it without sugar. You like to drink three cups of coffee each
day? For a week drink only two.
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 lack of interest in them, by thinking about
their futility.
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 training yourself
through easier exercises at first, and gradually increase the number and
difficulty of the exercises. Practice will improve and increase your
power, giving you a lot of satisfaction.
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 doing 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 talk French when you travel to
France. This is the same with will power and self-discipline; by
strengthening them, they become available for your use whenever you need
them.
It is important to remember not to choose exercises that might affect
adversely your body or health. Deny and give up what is not necessary,
futile or is harmful, but not what is vital for your well being. Always
use your reason and common sense, so that you do no damage to yourself.
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.
Advantages of Possessing Strong Will Power and Self Discipline
You
need both of them in order to rule your thoughts and to be the boss of
your mind. The stronger they are, the more control you have over your
thoughts, and consequently your powers of concentration get stronger.
When you are the master of your mind you enjoy inner peace and
happiness. Outer 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 abilities are essential for self growth, spiritual growth and
meditation. They give you control over your daily life, help you improve
your habits and behavior, and they are the keys to every success.
Practice the exercises presented here earnestly and persistently, and you will go really far.
Learn how to gain inner power and self-control, become more decisive
and assertive, and overcome laziness. Read "Willpower and Self
Discipline", a book that will guide you to attaining inner mastery and
inner power. Full of information, practical advice and exercises.
Keywords :
Will Power - Self-Discipline - inner power - spiritual - material - souda -