Ask yourself this question, each time you begin to doubt your ability to survive in this conflict, competition, and corona-inflicted world (My three C’s of life right now).
The more you think about it, the stronger the fire in your belly gets. You feel energetic as the positive vibes spread to the other parts of your body.
I am no professional motivational speaker. I am just a normal millenial, trying to navigate my way in this world, as much as everyone else is. One of my mottos in life is willpower leads to a successful life. And here, I’m not defining success in financial terms, though I am aware of its importance. For me, I know I’m successful, when I learn to defeat the demons that threaten to destroy my mind, sanity, and happiness. And that is a long journey every young soul has to undertake, every middle-aged person goes through, and most senior persons have overcome already.
The definition of willpower differs with every individual. Whatever the journey, let me remind you, it is not going to be a breezy one. It takes a great deal of your inner energy to engage in any activity, that requires you to move in the opposite direction. Some of the common examples include quitting drinking and smoking habits, losing weight, etc. Sounds fabulous on paper, doesn’t it?
My favorite role-model in life has always been Ms. Arianna Huffington, as aforementioned in my previous articles. And her willpower to revamp her lifestyle is just one of the reasons. Her traumatic experience reminds us that we shouldn’t wait till our time runs out, to love and pamper ourselves. Some of us may be lucky to survive. Some of us may not. I remember an instance where I nearly drowned as a 11-year old kid and thought I was going to die. I do not know how I had managed to push myself out of the water, but I did. God’s grace, no doubt. To this day, I can still feel the water pour into my lungs. I value life today more than I used to. There were times when I did want to throw it all away. And that’s what lack of willpower can do to you.
One of my favorite activities is to google willpower. The big G never gives you straight answers ?. But more than relying on G, I look for inspiration in books. The late Louise Hay is my all-time favorite. How about yours?
Remember, you cannot buy or learn willpower. Why? Because we are born with it. But, some of us hone it well. Some of us don’t, basically late-bloomers. Do you know what’s beautiful about willpower? It lets you believe in miracles, lets you believe that anything is possible, that you can fly high and achieve your dreams. Regardless of what people around you believe or tell you. That’s why I always believe that I am my own support system. For me, I am working on my will to disconnect with social media, WhatsApp in particular, to try experiencing an old-school life. Like in the early 2000s. And distance myself from people, which is number two on my list.
Right from social media to the ever-pessimistic news coverage around the world, there are lots of things happening that can disturb us physically, mentally, or emotionally. And experiences do teach/remind you that you have got to believe in yourself, more than anyone else does in you. We tend to underestimate our willpower in most cases. Just like we need our brain and lungs to function well, but do not use them to 100%.
What am I doing to fight this? What are you doing to make yourselves stronger? You can start by trying out a few online willpower challenges, which has been the lockdown norm, of late.
If you want to improve your sleep, try to keep your e-gadgets as far as possible from you. Try not to use them at least from an hour before you crash for the day. When it comes to the food, you’ll be prone to displaying your best puppy face when you see your favorite unhealthy dishes on the table. You would need all the support from your family for this. I know how it feels!?
Meditation makes all the difference to your overall health. I have enrolled myself in a meditation course to help me take my first step towards a stronger willpower. And I prefer going the old-school way, instead of relying on the smart gadgets.
Finally, I know it’s been a long read for you all. Here are five things I follow for the same-
- Break my long-term goals into shorter ones.
- Reconcile with the fact that I’m my sole support system.
- Practice gratitude for the smallest things I’ve enjoyed in life.
- Build small walls of emotional fortitude around me. I’ve got my own back!
- Meditate, meditate, and meditate; followed by sufficient sleep.
Strongly believe in the above quote and life will be a cakewalk.