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Personal growth: New thinking on the use of “willpower” February 20, 2018

Posted by Dennis Mellersh in Goal Setting and Realization.
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If you have tried unsuccessfully to use willpower to achieve different goals in your self-actualization program, the fault may not lie in your inability to use willpower, but rather, it may be that the concept of willpower is actually an ineffective way to make progress with your goals.

An interesting and detailed article on vox.com cites a number of recent research studies which indicate that reliance on willpower alone can actually be counter-productive in our personal development efforts.

Commenting on a study in which Blair Saunders, a University of Dundee psychologist, was the lead author, the Vox article, written by Brian Resnick, states:

“In a specific situation, sure, you can muster willpower to save yourself from falling back into a bad habit. But relying on willpower alone to accomplish goals ‘is almost like relying on the emergency brake when you are driving your car,’ Saunders says. ‘You should focus on things that drive you toward your goals rather than stopping things that are in your way.’ What’s more, the human “emergency brake” that is willpower is bound to fail in some instances, causing you to crash.

The article concludes:

“Focusing on failures of willpower leads to shame, both public and private, and holds back our curiosity from finding and enacting solutions that actually work.”

Here’s a link to the complete article:

https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2018/1/15/16863374/willpower-overrated-self-control-psychology

Personal development: Are we trying too hard to feel happy? January 14, 2018

Posted by Dennis Mellersh in Solving Problems.
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When we are in a low mood, a non-happy mood, no amount of will-powered effort is likely to get us out of the low mood. In fact the harder we try to be happy, the more frustrating and pervasive our low mood is likely to become.

This is one of the observations in Dr. Richard Carlson’s book, You Can be Happy no Matter What (1). Dr. Carlson discusses the five principles that he believes can have a significant effect on our happiness and feeling of well-being.

One of the key principles he identifies is that of moods and their influence on our behaviour, and he emphasises:

“…you can’t force your way out of a low mood any more than you can force yourself to have a good time doing something you don’t like. The more force (or thought) you put into it, the lower you sink.”

The big take-away for me in the book is his observation that when looking at our circumstances or problems, which could be difficult, that they will seem bleak and perhaps hopeless when we are in a down mood, but the same circumstances and problems will seem more manageable and solvable when we are in a higher or good mood.

And although that seems self-evident, Dr. Carlson notes that when we are in a down or low mood, we simply cannot see the upside and positives of our situation, no matter how hard we try.

His suggestion is to postpone significant decisions when we are in these low periods and wait to take action until our mood improves, which it generally will, on its own. At that point we will be in a better psychological place to make sound decisions and initiate appropriate actions.

(1) Richard Carlson Ph.D., You Can Be Happy No Matter What, New World Library, Novato, California, 1997, 141 pages