Will Power Can Be Taught by Mike Fallat
A book is not a "Look back on what I have done" tool. It's a "here is why I am valuable to you" tool.
Tools make life easier. They help you accomplish the mission.
The greatest tool you can have is will power. As discussed in the DreamStarters University book of the week, The Power Of Habit, a person's will power is very similar to a muscle. The more you use it, the stronger it becomes. The more you have of it, the stronger you become.
Will power is something I look for in people. I look for it in business partners, friends, clients, a woman, investors, associates, team members, etc. It means they get stuff done. They are not just talkers. They are doers.
Have you ever heard someone talk about something they are going to do soon? Then, 6 months or a year later, they still haven't started/accomplished it? Major turnoff, isn't it?
It means one of two things: 1) It just wasn't a priority to them or 2) They lacked the will power to get it done.
Like I said, will power is acquired. It's never given.
In a study done by a group of psychology PhD candidates at Case Western, they found that will power can be taught. According to their study, they were able to see will power in an individual increase by adding a small change to their daily life. The study group was a bunch of people recovering from hip surgery, which is a painful process that relies heavily on rehab. To recover correctly, a person must be very active immediately right after surgery. Otherwise, scar tissue will build up and make movement very difficult after it heals.
Those who walked everyday after surgery and stayed up on your rehab schedule, their chances of fully recovering sky-rocketed. If they skipped days, their chances diminished greatly.
The PhD candidates divided the participants into two groups: Group A and Group B.
Group A was told to write everything down. They were told to write their goals for the day. How far they wanted to walk. Where they wanted to walk. At what times they wanted to walk. How they are going to feel when they walk. What they were going to experience at every moment of every day.
Most importantly, they asked the group to write how they would respond when pain became unbearable. Every morning they would do this. Tedious, I know.
Group B was not told to write anything down. They were told to keep going to rehab as usual and to keep walking daily. Everything was exact same as Group A , except they didn't write anything down.
The results were unbelievable. It showed Group A recovered much faster and more completely than Group B. The people's spirits were much higher in Group A and there were much less complaints of pain.
When asked how they did this, the PhD candidates responded with "We increased Group A's will power. That is all".
Their study was proven correctly. What they did was give Group A a plan. By having them write down their goals, experiences, and plan for the day, they gave Group A participants a map for their life. Therefore, when pain overcame them, they were ready to combat the pain with a resolution. It's very similar to an engineer's "IF THIS, THEN THAT" diagram.
By having a plan in place, being ready for what is to come, then implementing a NEXT STEP, Group A had something to look forward to - A REWARD. Their reward was visualizing their day and having it come true. For some, their reward was accomplishing a mission (i.e. walk 500 yards today). For one, it was walking to the bus stop to see his wife get off the bus. For another, it was walking to dinner and being with his family.
The individuals got their mind off the pain and focused on the reward. By having it written down in front of them consistently everyday, it made them think about everything to be happy about. They didn't dread walking like participants in Group B. They expected the pain and had a plan in place to fight it. Their mind was focused solely on the reward.
Group B participants only thought about the pain. They didn't think about the reward. It wasn't written down in front of them everyday to remind them. They only thought about the negative.
The PhD Candidates expressed how will power is the ability overcome pain by changing the way you think.
The lesson in this story is very simple. Will power can be taught. By reminding yourself of the reward on a consistent basis AND having a plan to combat the pain points, you are able to push yourself further and faster than everyone else.
You want will power? Keep Writing.
An amazing story is the ultimate reward.
Mike Fallat helps entrepreneurs write and publish bestselling books. Then, teaches them how to use it as the ultimate marketing tool.
