Guide 5 How to Increase Willpower (The Balancing Act)

Increasing Willpower is balancing act when fighting an addiction. The reason being is that you must workout the muscle without going over the edge and running out. Which leads to relapsing, you might notice you often relapse towards the end of the day. That being said It is usually recommend to only kick one bad habit at a time. A lot of times people get really motivated and try to do multiple things at once which leads to a bigger fall. I would suggest adding a workout regimen to your week no matter how small for it has shown that working out is one of the most rewarding willpower commitments because it gives back generously to your willpower supply. I will now cover a few techniques in increasing your willpower as well as restoring it through out the day and knowing your limit.

• Willpower workout: The first technique to increase Willpower is a simple one and will not drain you of it as you work it out. Choose something simple that you’d like to change in your life. For me I have chosen my overall posture especially when I eat as well as putting down my food and chewing thoroughly. You can also do something like using your left hand for simple task like brushing your teeth or for your computer mouse. You see by mentally practicing catching yourself and correcting yourself, you are increasing the strength of your awareness and over all willpower. There have been studies done showing that practicing this technique will help in dealing with bigger battles. (PMO Addiction). Meditation is also a great way to practice this technique. We all struggle on not letting our mind wonder during meditation and some even get discouraged. What we don’t realize is every time you catch yourself and readjust your mind, you are working out that muscle and improving it. Remember on my guide of perspective, getting discouraged is pointless really, just like Plato said, “Never discourage anyone… who continually makes progress, no matter how slow.” and that my friend includes yourself. On a quick side note it has been proven that we display optimum growth when we show self compassion towards ourselves as if we were talking to a friend instead of how we usually give ourselves a hard time.
• Long Distance Running: Like I said earlier a workout regimen is a must when trying to increase your Willpower. Studies have shown that working out consistently is one of the most efficient ways to increase your Willpower. Long distance running is the ultimate Willpower workout. It requires you to push yourself past your limits. I insist on actual running outside instead of a treadmill because there is no quitting allowed when you are 3 miles away from your home, you have to keep jogging if you want to get home anytime soon. Plus green exercise is extremely good for you (outdoor workouts). That being said I recommend doing this in the morning when you have an abundance of Willpower. I at least recommend doing power walks if you can’t do any other workout for health reasons.
• Cold Showers: Another way to increase your Willpower is to take cold showers. Now I am not talking about the health benefits that are claimed to be gained from cold showers but instead the mental strength one gains from taking on a difficult task head on. We need to learn to become head strong if you will. In today’s society how often do you really have to man up? or woMAN up? We are creatures who seek comfortable habits, so odds are you don’t have to very often. You learn that the only way to take a cold shower is take slow deep breaths and accept the pain. Now as I have said before pain ceases to be pain once you give it purpose. We need to remind ourselves that we are doing this so that we can better ourselves. It is just like working out you take the burn head on because you know it is for a greater purpose. That being said I wouldn’t go Fight Club on yourselves and began to burn your hand with chemicals that ends up being masochistic. (I love Fight Club). Though cold showers are painful they do have healthy benefits just like working out, this is why it is not considered masochistic. This can also be practiced on suffering that we unintentionally endure in our lives. By becoming Head Strong you will find it easier to tackle your procrastinations as well.
• How to take a Cold Shower: warning the first time I tried a cold shower I screamed and ran out… Don’t get discouraged if the first time is a flop it took me three attempts until I learned how to do it. That being said take a normal shower & once your done, take a deep breath and lower it all the way to the coldest possible. You need to take control of your breathing and slow it down because you will begin to hyperventilate at first. Some people slowly lower the water temperature but I believe taking it head on will get you a better mental workout.

Now lets cover how to recover your Willpower as well as Willpower boosters through out the day if needed.

• Sleep: The way you recover your Willpower is by going to sleep. It is important to get a good amount of sleep while doing the 90 day journey. Going to sleep and waking up at the same time everyday has shown to make less hours of sleep go a longer way. That being said if you are having a hard night with fighting off PMO your best bet is to GO TO SLEEP! Now like I’ve talked about this before in Paradoxical Intention if you are desperately trying to go to sleep out of fear of relapsing you will just struggle. The key is to try and stay awake while losing yourself in a certain task. My best recommendation is turn off your computer and read a book or write in a journal for as long as you can until you can’t stay awake. The reason I recommend these ideas is because if it’s late your willpower is low and every trigger is going to have huge influence on you, especially your computer. I also recommend not surfing the web because you are only teasing the actual habit of the HUNT. Websites like facebook, reddit (sorry), & pintrest are not a good idea when your weak because they also share the same seek/click/instant reward cycle that pornography has. I believe we are mainly addicted to the actual HUNT.
• Willpower Boosters: Here are a few ways of temporarily increasing your willpower throughout the day. Trying laying down for 10 Minutes and just relaxing to some soothing music. It is also important to catch up on sleep by dedicating one day a week to sleeping in. Caffeine naps are also a great way to get a temporary boost. Drink coffee and take a 15 minute nap so that you can wake up with caffeine absorbed. Eating also gives you small boost of willpower. Now sugar has shown to have the fastest acting boosters because they turn into carbohydrates quickly. So I’d recommend carry some mints or one of those packets you can put in water for flavor. Now it is actually recommended to eat healthy to have more efficient boost of willpower even though the effects take longer. I don’t want to go in depth on what eating healthy means but here is a short list, “lean proteins, vegetables, and wholegrain.) Keep Protein powder with you at the office or in the locker, this is a perfect solution to this technique. Just like you drink a protein shake before a body workout it is a great idea to drink one for a willpower workout.

One last side note when your struggling and you feel like giving up just remember if you can last that difficult night if you can take that pain head on and embrace as a sign of growth, you will wake up the next day that much stronger, that much more closer to your goal and next time it won’t be so difficult, because you’ve done it before and you my friend know you can do it again.

Remember you my friend, are much bigger then this.

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