Would you like more willpower? Who wouldn’t, right? Well this month I have some fun, free, and quick ways for you to increase your willpower. Yes, quick! How about in one minute or less?
1. Switch hands! Studies show that you’ll be less vulnerable to loss of willpower. Stir drinks, use your computer mouse, carry items, or eat with your non-dominant hand.
2. Make a decision in advance. In case you haven’t yet noticed, decision fatigue is real. Pre-commit and pare-down your decisions. For instance, I always know ahead of time what I’ll eat for dinner. I have a morning routine when I wake up that’s golden, so I don’t have to DECIDE what to do and in what order.
3. Planks or push-ups. Building discipline and exceeding your limits is all a part of increasing willpower. I’ve chosen planks and do them every day. Yes, every day. You can too! Holding a plank for a minute or less is no small win.
4. Mentally prepare for an obstacle. Think of one thing that could go wrong today. Having a fallback plan in place creates willpower to act accordingly. Planning gives you willpower because you know WHAT you’ll do and WHEN.
5. Take a cold shower. Why? I talk so much about the benefits of cold showers you’d think I turned off the hot water heater in my house 🙂 If you don’t think cold showers builds willpower, I’d guess you haven’t taken them on a regular basis. They may not be your thing, but that’s why I’ve got a whole list here for you to choose from.
6. Create an Opposite Day! Do the opposite of what you’re doing right now. You increase willpower when you consciously override behavior. You strengthen resolve, and that translates to willpower. Are you staring at your screen? Blink your eyes. Are you sitting? Get up and walk. Are you walking while you read this……..be careful 🙂 Kidding of course. Sit down for a bit. If you try an opposite day, be sure and let me know how it goes.
7. Meditate for one minute. Yes, meditation doesn’t have to be practiced with an all-or-nothing approach. I know many people who, if they can’t meditate for a long period, won’t meditate at all. When they can’t meditate in their chosen place or time, they won’t meditate. That’s stilly, really. Why keep the benefits of meditation in such a box? Benefits accrue even for a minute’s worth of practice. And one of those benefits is willpower!
8. Ready to fist pump? Making a fist is the lightweight version of using a hand grip. Grip strength is correlated to mental health. And making a fist with your non-dominant hand would work even better because it fits in with suggestion #1—switch hands!
9. Eat some nuts. Okay, I know I said these would all be free, but how can I not add this to the list? The omega-3 fatty acids in walnuts, pecans, and cashews improve cognitive function. It’s hard to increase and maintain willpower without good cognitive function.
Just think………these nine tips would take maybe at most 10 minutes of your day, depending on how long you last in the cold shower. Ten minutes for a return on investment of increased willpower really is quite a spectacular return! All our investments should pay such grand dividends 🙂
Enjoy August and see you next month,
shelli
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