Will determines the ability to achieve success: it reveals how easily one gets down to work, resists temptations, defeats procrastination and laziness, gets rid of irritants, and puts long-term results above desires for short-term pleasures.
Will in psychology, according to Wikipedia, is a person’s ability to make decisions based on the thought process and direct their thoughts and actions in accordance with the decision made. Simply put, if you made a decision to do something, but no action followed, it means that the decision was not made, and the will was suppressed by fear, stress or laziness.
Modern psychologists suggest that weakness of will may be caused by one or more of the following reasons:
- lack of suitable goals;
- indecision caused by shifting attention from one course of action to another;
- inability to choose between alternative courses of action;
- inability to make a firm decision;
- inability to break bad habits;
- inability to resist desires, impulses and urges.
Functions of the will
The will has two functions: incentive and inhibitory.
A driving will is an action or set of actions that you need to take (instilling a good habit). Inhibitory - an action that does not need to be performed (eradicating a bad habit).
Will is manifested to one degree or another in all people. However, many, despite the fact that they rationally understand that bad behavior or habit destroys life and can be very expensive (sedentary lifestyle, alcohol consumption, smoking), change their lifestyle and behavior only for a short period of time. After a few days, weeks or months, habit takes over and the will becomes overwhelmed. Until the hour when sufficiently strong fear or self-loathing arises again.
There is a certain threshold of desire that separates motivation and will: when the desire lies below this threshold, it is motivation, and when it crosses it, the action becomes volitional.
Character
Parents shape the child into what they want and can, until the age of 8. Then the individual develops his own consciousness, and the child begins to independently think about his actions and decisions. Character is a set of different values, personal qualities and inclinations of a person. What is a strong-willed character, and what does it consist of?
- Determination. A person must be able to make their own choices and take responsibility for them. Today many people have big problems with this point. People can make a decision, but not everyone wants to be responsible for it.
- Self confidence. A strong-willed character can only be formed in a person who has good self-esteem. A person must know exactly his strengths and weaknesses.
- Formation of will. By setting goals and achieving them, a person builds character. Thanks to success, a person’s mood and self-esteem rise and it seems that everything in life is easy and simple. Only by overcoming obstacles can a person form what is called will.
Volitional actions
Volitional actions are consciously controlled actions that are aimed at overcoming difficulties and obstacles in achieving set goals. They arise at a moment when a person is deprived of motivation, vitality and energy, but at the same time clearly understands what and why he needs to do.
The most important components of volitional actions:
- setting goals;
- thinking through ways and techniques to achieve the goal;
- action planning;
- overcoming negative motives;
- decision-making;
- implementation of the decision made;
- evaluation of what has been done;
- formation of an attitude to perform volitional actions in the future.
Volitional action is a rather complex process, including a whole chain of different stages and a sequence of different stages and phases. In the modern world there are so many irritants (advertising, the Internet, sounds) that it becomes increasingly difficult for a person to cultivate this valuable quality that largely determines success.
Life position influencing the will
People lead different lifestyles. Some people prefer to relax in front of the TV, but then engage in active physical labor during working hours. And some work with their heads, and in their free time they engage in extreme sports. But it's a perfect balance that doesn't come around very often. What life positions exist that influence a person’s volitional efforts?
- Active. A person can make decisions and be responsible for his choices. A person sets goals and achieves their goals. Alternating active physical activity with brain activity helps to find harmony. An active life position forces a person to participate in various events, demonstrations and social projects.
- Passive. The emotional-volitional sphere is very poorly developed in some people. A person can and will set goals for himself, but will not be able to complete them, because he will not find the internal motivation to start acting. The desire to get something will be less pronounced than laziness.
What you need to know about will
Lack of will is the highest barrier that prevents a person from changing. The problem is that it needs to be used on a daily basis, not every now and then to create a good habit or break a bad one. All our serious goals and plans collapse precisely because of our inability to control our will.
The concept of delayed gratification is closely related to will. In simple terms, it is the ability to focus on a long-term goal so as not to notice instant gratification that can interfere with plans. A week of intense training at the gym won't matter if we have a wild weekend of eating nothing but pizza and drinking.
Will is a limited resource. If we try to change, for example, stop acting impulsively, then by the evening we may experience depression and frustration. This threatens to return to an old habit. However, two points should be taken into account. First: the will can be trained - and thus we will be able to exercise it much longer during the day. Second: willpower can be wasted if you do not do what you need.
Since will is a limited resource, you need to plan your day in such a way as not to waste it. For example, avoiding places that may trigger a bad habit.
A high level of willpower almost always means high self-esteem (after all, we have something to be proud of), the ability to resist temptations in the form of alcohol, cigarettes and overeating, and improved mental and physical health.
Depleted willpower makes a person impulsive. This means that if you feel that your will is at zero, you need to do everything possible to remove temptations out of sight.
If you are convinced of the exceptional importance of developing the will, let's see exactly how this can be done. Remember that you have a long journey ahead, perhaps life-long.
1
Develop moral qualities
Researcher Kurt Gray, a doctorate in psychology at Harvard, explains this effect as a self-fulfilling prophecy: “People around them consider highly moral people to be more strong-willed and disciplined, able to endure discomfort without losing their heads.”
The researcher is confident that Gandhi or Mother Teresa were most likely not born strong-willed people, but became such by trying to help others. He introduces the concept of “moral transformation” because he suggests that moral actions can transform people from being lazy and procrastinating to strong-willed.
2
Don't waste your will
If you try really hard, you can completely exhaust your will by noon, which will have a catastrophic effect on the rest of the day and those important decisions that you will never be able to make.
For example, you set a goal to change your character, as Franklin did: allocate one or two weeks to one quality. It's a long marathon, so there's a lot to plan for.
Make not very important decisions in advance, which usually “suck” your energy. Create a menu for the coming months and stick to it. Buy the same shirts, trousers and shoes so as not to waste mental resources constantly thinking about what to wear and wear. Here and now you need to make only those decisions that concern your character. Take care of the rest in advance.
The same tips apply to other areas of life: losing weight, getting rid of bad habits, achieving the Advanced level in learning English and much more. Make all the non-important decisions in advance and focus only on the most important ones. Don't waste your will.
3
Have a self-reflection session
For this you will need a diary. Write down all the actions that you perform unconsciously (they have become habitual), but which you want to get rid of. For example:
- While working, I am constantly distracted by news sites.
- While reading, I like to be distracted by my phone.
- During a conversation, I focus on what I want to say, and not on the words of the interlocutor.
If you make a list of at least ten points, this can already be called a good self-reflection session. Now choose your two most destructive habits.
Write down what sequential actions these unwanted habits consist of. Actions should also be understood as thoughts and emotions associated with them. For example, if you tend not to listen when you're talking to someone, notice what thoughts or beliefs pop into your head. Probably, they are the ones that prevent you from concentrating on productive dialogue. Examine the nature of these thoughts.
Think about how you can stop this behavior. Remember that you can be conscious in every action you take. It's about habit, the main thing is to recognize the sequence of steps.
Over the next month, take full control of these two habits.
4
Stop for three seconds
Our life is a kilometer-long chain of habits. Some of them help, others hinder.
Throughout the day, stop in the middle of any activity (unless you're driving, of course) and think about what stage of which habit you are currently in. If we are talking about consuming bad food, then even pleasant thoughts about Coca-Cola are already part of the habit. Think for three seconds: what will this thought lead to? Of course, to the hype: “without cola I will be an unhappy person, but with cola I will be the happiest person on the planet.” Then go and buy it. Remember further: after you drank this soda, how do you feel? And in half an hour? It can be revealed that in fact you were deceiving yourself, becoming a victim of advertising and habit.
Try to be aware of yourself for three seconds as often as possible throughout the day. Using this method, you can get rid of the irresistible desire to criticize, get angry and be offended. Once “three seconds” becomes a habit, you will no longer exhaust your willpower with this exercise (it will begin to be performed automatically) and you will be able to change, motivate yourself to work, or stop unwanted actions much faster and more effectively.
We wish you good luck!
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Key words:1Psychoregulation, 4Psychoregulation
The process of developing the will
The emotional-volitional sphere of development helps to focus on the main thing. A person throws aside everything unimportant. How does the process of developing volitional effort proceed step by step?
- Formation of the task. Before any goal can be realized, it must be invented. Goals can be global, or they can be very small, passable. A person may consider some of his ideas feasible, while others he will perceive as something fantasy.
- Thinking about the path. When a goal is formed, a person thinks about how he will implement his project. This could be a step-by-step elaboration of the plan or a sketch of which side is best to approach the task.
- Implementation of the idea. When the decision to complete a project is made, a person has no choice but to take action.
