09 Apr Willpower: NOT the route to long term change
Why commitment and determination (and not willpower) are the keys to achieving successful long-term change
Willpower is an important human resource that helps us get through difficult situations. But it’s not the key to achieving successful long term change.
One of the main reasons that many people fail to make the long-term changes they want in life is because they rely on willpower. Willpower is an important asset and it can be highly effective, in short-term situations e.g. doing those extra reps at the gym or avoiding a mid-morning snack and waiting until lunchtime. But it is finite daily resource. In the excellent book ‘The One Thing’ by Keller and Papasan, the authors liken willpower to the green power bar on a mobile phone. Every morning you start with a full charge of willpower, but with usage and the passing of time the amount of willpower available lessens and the green power bar reduces in size. Therefore in order to get the most of our daily ‘ration’ of willpower we need to manage it carefully and use it appropriately in short-term situations.
So, what is the answer to achieving long-term change?
Most experts agree that the best way to successfully implement long-term change is to establish a new habit. In this way, the desired new behaviour becomes automatic and requires little energy to maintain it.
Traditionally, the accepted view was that it took around three weeks to break an unwanted habit and replace it with a new, more acceptable automatic behaviour. Assuming that we have a few hours supply of willpower per day, it’s not hard to see that willpower isn’t the right tool for making that change. Given that more recent research by University College London suggests that on average, it actually takes two months (66 days) to install a new habit, an alternative to willpower is definitely required.
The most effective way to establish a new positive habit that will bring successful long-term change is to use a proven winning formula provided by a combination of two powerful qualities – commitment and determination.
Think of commitment as a firm mental contract with yourself to commit to achieving a goal (i.e. the new habit). Commitment is strongest and most effective when the benefits of achieving the goal/habit are clearly understood and act as a strong motivation. For example, someone who has committed to stopping smoking will probably be motivated by health and financial benefits.
As we all know, achieving anything usually involves overcoming setbacks and challenges. This is where determination is needed. Determination is a positive emotional feeling that is experienced during the process of achieving change. Because it is a positive goal-focussed emotion, it is very effective in helping maintain enthusiasm and perseverance in the face of obstacles and promoting actions that will bring about goal achievement.
Commitment and determination are powerful inner resources (available to everyone) which when combined can prove unstoppable in bringing about the changes you want to make in your life.
In summary:
- Clearly define the change you want to make in your life
- Understand the benefits that achieving that change will bring you
- Commit with yourself to making the change
- Accept that you will encounter challenges
- Understand that you need to stay determined for about two months to install a new habit
- Congratulate yourself on making the change and enjoy the benefits!
Hypnotherapy can help turbo-charge the above process