Most of us regularly tell ourselves: "If only I had more willpower". However, is it really possible to develop it? And if so., what is the best place to start?
Some of these situations will sound familiar to you.:
- Do you want to turn into a "lark", but when the alarm rings, you give yourself relief and keep sleeping.
- You decide to switch to a healthier diet, but unexpectedly make an order at McDonald's.
- Do you think, that it would be nice to go to the gym and lose a few extra pounds before summer, but after a long day at work you find yourself on the couch in front of the TV.
Yes? You're not alone. Science has several answers to the question of whether, how to develop willpower, That, probably, you will be surprised.
Why We Should Care About Willpower?
Roy Baumeister, one of the leading researchers of willpower, Notes:
The root cause of most problems, bothering our contemporaries, - dependencies, overeating, Crime, domestic violence, sexually transmitted diseases, Prejudice, debts, unwanted pregnancies, lack of education, poor performance at school and at work, lack of funds, lack of exercise - is a more or less low level of self-control.
Psychology revealed 2 main parameters, Providing, seems, extremely wide range of benefits: intelligence and self-control. Despite years of trying, psychology has not figured out, what a person can do to sustainably improve mental performance. But strengthening self-control is quite affordable.. Consequently, self-control is a rare and powerful tool, using which psychology is able to make tangible and useful changes in the lives of ordinary people
Research in this area strongly supports the idea of, that the growth of a person's willpower has a positive effect on all areas of his life. In humans, more self-controlled, healthier, relationships are more stable and happier, earnings higher, andcareer is more successful. Not surprising, that those with a stronger will are also happier.
Therefore, a declaration of willingness to work on your willpower can be one of the best decisions in your life..
What is willpower?
To understand, how willpower works, we first need to find out, what do we mean, using this word. It seems to us all, what we understand, what are we talking about?. However, as scientists, students of this subject, determine willpower?
In the book "Maximum Willpower" («Maximum Willpower») Professor Kelly McGonigal, Leading the Science of Willpower Course («The Science of Willpower») в Stanford, mentions three different aspects of this phenomenon:
- The “I Won't” Power - The Ability to Resist Temptation.
- The power of "I will" - the ability to do that, what is necessary.
- The power of "I want" - a person's awareness of their long-term goals and desires.
According to McGonigal, willpower is directly related to the use of power over these "I will", "I will not" and "I want" to achieve their own goals and avoid trouble.
Whence in us the force loves?
Willpower is an amazing phenomenon. Really, some scholars even talk about, what, maybe, it is she who makes a person a person. This is logical, because other animals, possessing such a developed ability to control their impulses, does not exist. What made us so special?
Ancient people lived in society, where the survival of each individual was highly dependent on the group. That get along with others, everyone had to watch their impulses. This had a huge impact on the brain and led to the development of methods for controlling impulses., because of which a person could get into trouble.
Our current ability to deal with our impulses is the result of thousands of years of adaptation to an ever more complex social environment..
The brain and the power of love: Meet, prefrontal cortex
The prefrontal cortex is part of the brain, located just behind the frontal bone and eyes. Throughout evolution, she mainly controlled physical movement. (walking, run, rise, etc.. P.). Over time, it has not only increased, but also strengthened connections with other parts of the brain and took on some new functions. The prefrontal cortex is now in charge of your actions., thoughts and even feelings.
In the prefrontal cortex, 3 independent departments, controlling various aspects of willpower:
- The left lobe of the prefrontal cortex is responsible for the "I will" part.
- The right lobe is in charge of the "I will not" sphere.
- And the lower middle share serves "I want".
Together, these departments provide our self-control and self-awareness, or, otherwise I say, he loves our power.
The importance of the prefrontal cortex is best illustrated by cases, when people were injured, affecting this particular part of the brain. IN 1848 Phineas Gage, calm, polite and hardworking foreman, found myself in a situation, which resulted in a very serious head injury, damaged prefrontal cortex. The wound changed him forever. Friends could not recognize Gage: he turned into irritable, импульсивного человека — буквально в противоположность самого себя.
Phineas' case is one of many examples of, what's happening, when a person suffers from damage to the prefrontal cortex. This makes it obvious, that willpower is not something mystical, but just one of the functions of our brain.
Why our grandparents were more disciplined, than we
One of the most shocking discoveries, Concerning Willpower, this is: force likes similar to muscle, tired from overuse.
Roy Baumeister has done many experiments, during which he asked people to exercise willpower in a controlled laboratory setting (refuse cakes, hide your anger, keep your hands in ice water, etc.. d.). Was, that the details of these requirements did not matter much: people, who had to use their willpower, experienced a weakening in the ability to control oneself. It was expressed in different ways: they, who was asked to contain emotions, were more inclined to buy unnecessary items, avoiding sweets led to procrastination and so on. In the end, Baumeister came to the conclusion, that in the process of use willpower becomes scarce.
Furthermore, the study showed, that there are many factors, able to drain willpower, some of them we would never have thought of. Attend a boring meeting, trying to impress on a date, inappropriate workplace - it all drains willpower. Everytime, when you have to hold back an impulse or make a decision - it doesn't matter, how ordinary - you use your "willpower muscle" and, hence, empty the corresponding reserves.
Kathleen Wons, Associate Professor of Marketing at the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minesota, Notes:
There is a study, which demonstrates: the level of self-control of people remained the same, just like decades ago, but we are attacked by more and more temptations. Our psychology is not designed to deal with all of today's potential pleasures.
We could look at people, belonging to previous generations, and admire their self-discipline. Martial arts master, I remember, as I once read stories about the masters of the past and reproached myself for, what, in contrast, день за днем не отрабатывал часами один и тот же прием.
But it seems, the reason, that our generation is not so diligent, as previous, is not a weakness of character, and the surrounding stimuli. Would these martial artists be as dedicated to their craft, if they had access to Facebook, Twitter и YouTube? I 'm afraid, we will never get an answer to this question.
Steroids for Willpower: meditation
Good news: we will be able to increase our willpower and be able to use it regularly, если начнем train your brain.
Meditation has proven itself as one of the most effective methods for increasing willpower.. Research on this issue shows, what 3 hours of meditation improve self-control and concentration, and after 11 hours of practice, you can see real changes in the brain. Why is it so effective?
Meditation Increases Blood Flow to the Prefrontal Cortex. Seems, that the brain reacts to exercise in the same way, like muscles: pushing up, you get strong hands, and meditating, improve neural connections between parts of the brain, responsible for self-control. What is the best way to meditate, if you want to develop your willpower?
Kelly McGonigal says, that the described meditation technique will cause blood to rush to the prefrontal cortex, and this is, perhaps, the easiest, what can we do to accelerate evolution and maximize the potential of our brains.
- Sit and don't move. Вы можете сидеть на стуле, putting your feet on the floor, or sit on the floor, legs crossed. Try to restrain motor impulses: find out, can you ignore the itching and the need to change your posture. Stillness is an important part of meditation, she teaches not to succumb to impulses automatically.
- Переключите внимание на дыхание. Close your eyes and concentrate on your breathing.. Mentally say "inhale", sucking in air, and "exhale", letting it out. Noticing, that the brain began to wander, put it back in place and keep focusing on breathing. It will activate the prefrontal cortex and calm the brain centers., responsive to stress and desires.
- Capture breath sensations and moments, когда разум «блуждает». After a few minutes, drop the words "inhale" and "exhale" and concentrate solely on the sensation of the breath.. Your mind might get a little lost without these words.. But noticing, what do you think of something extraneous, bring your attention back to breathing. You can repeat "inhale" and "exhale" several times, if you find it difficult to concentrate. This part helps to train as self-awareness, and self-control.
At the very beginning of your class, meditation can seem very difficult.. It's quite normal: in everyday life, we often do not notice, how scattered and noisy our minds are, and immobility while trying to concentrate on breathing clearly demonstrates this. However, it doesn't matter, how inept do you think you are: research suggests, that even 5 minutes of daily meditation will benefit from increased levels of self-control and self-awareness. Don't be afraid to start small.
Conclusion: don't beat yourself up too much!
Think, one of the most important conclusions, which we can draw from a recent study of willpower, such: we should stop feeling guilty and reproaching ourselves every time, когда не удастся успешно ей воспользоваться.
More often than not, lack of willpower lurks brain chemistry., not natural weaknesses of character. How it makes no sense to expect unlimited physical strength from muscles, it is unreasonable to hope, that the mind will show unlimited willpower. Need to understand, what do you need to train, to increase willpower in the same way, how you practice, to improve physical capabilities. Meditation to Help You!
Author of the translation - Vyacheslav Davidenko, основатель компании .
