Does Willpower Work?

Willpower is one of those words that most of us scringe at the thought of, but somehow think we need more of.

What is willpower?  Psychologists define it as the ability to delay gratification, resisting short-term temptations in order to meet long-term goals The capacity to override an unwanted thought, feeling, or impulse The ability to employ a “cool” cognitive system of behavior rather than a “hot” emotional system.

There is evidence that while willpower is a finite resource (which means that we don't have it available to us 100% of the time), it is like a muscle that can be trained and built upon.

Here are 5 ways to build your willpower:

1. Understand yourself - what triggers you, what you want in life and why.  What time of day do you have the most willpower, etc.  Values, Beliefs and Habits factor into this as well.  Understanding your Money "Stories" and how this shows up in your relationship with money and behaviour is important to knowing when you do and don't need to apply willpower to a situation.
2. Have a goal - if you are going to forgo something in the short-term in lieu of something in the future, then it needs to be for a good reason!  Otherwise it will be too easy to fall "off the wagon".
3. Remove temptation - unsubscribe from emails that tempt you to buy things.  Set up your savings and investing on auto-pilot.  Buy groceries online, so you minimise the “add-on” purchase temptation.  Do the things you need willpower for earlier in the day, when you’re more refreshed.
4. Exercise your willpower - make a commitment to yourself and then go one step further.  Get used to going that extra step, and you will flex your willpower muscles.  Save 11% instead of 10%, for example.
5. Plan for fun - schedule and budget fun in!  Attach it to an achievement, so you are rewarding yourself for seeing through a commitment or achieving a goal you set yourself.

Sometimes we just need to do the things that we don't think we WANT or NEED to do.  This is where willpower can help you to get it done!